DOJ charges property managers with rent price-fixing. Some operate apartments in Boise
The U.S. Department of Justice last week announced it amended a lawsuit against a property management software company accused of illegal rent price-fixing to include several of the country’s largest property management companies, including two that operate more than a dozen properties in Idaho.
The antitrust lawsuit accused software company RealPage and property management companies Greystar, LivCor, Camden, Cushman & Wakefield, Pinnacle, Willow Bridge and Cortland of colluding and using RealPage pricing algorithms to eliminate competitive rental pricing in states across the U.S.
Ten states joined the DOJ lawsuit, but Idaho was not among them. The Idaho Statesman asked Attorney General Raúl Labrador’s office if it has plans to join the case or has received complaints about the property managers named in the lawsuit. The office had not returned a request for comment by Friday morning.
Greystar and Cortland both operate multiple apartment properties in Idaho, including a dozen in the Treasure Valley, according to an investigation by The Washington Post. The investigation also highlighted 21 Idaho multifamily properties managed by Avenue 5, which has been sued by the attorneys general of Washington, D.C., and Arizona, as well as renters in California and Washington state over similar price-fixing complaints linked to RealPage.
Ali Rabe, executive director of Boise eviction and homelessness prevention nonprofit Jesse Tree, told the Statesman the price-fixing allegations come as Idaho renters are facing steep rent increases and record eviction rates.
Renters ‘paying the price’ of landlord collaboration, lawsuit says
The DOJ lawsuit said RealPage’s business model, which includes collecting and sharing private information like lease terms and future occupancy among competing landlords, eliminates the rental market’s competitive pricing, which can help limit rent hikes and keep housing prices affordable.
“RealPage replaces competition with coordination,” the lawsuit said. “It substitutes unity for rivalry. It subverts competition and the competitive process. It does so openly and directly — and American renters are left paying the price.”
In a news release, the DOJ said the landlords named in the lawsuit manage a collective 1.3 million rental units across 43 states. The Washington Post investigation estimated 19% of Boise’s rental market is properties managed by companies named in rental price-fixing lawsuits.
According to the federal lawsuit, properties managed by large corporations comprise more than 50% of all rental units in hundreds of U.S. cities.
Greystar, one of the companies named in the lawsuit, operates Reedhouse, Logger Creek at Park Center, Whitewater Park, Rosewood and River Pointe in Boise; Pennwood and the Lofts at Ten Mile in Meridian; Amazon Falls in Eagle; the Jaxon in Caldwell; the Timbers, Carrington Place and the Northern at Coeur d’Alene Place in Coeur d’Alene and Villas at Tullamore in Post Falls.
In a statement, Greystar denied participating in “anti-competitive practices” and said it will “vigorously defend” itself in the lawsuit.
Cortland, another of the property managers in the DOJ lawsuit, runs Cortland on the River in Boise, and Cortland South Meridian and Cortland at Ten Mile in Meridian.
Cortland agreed to a consent decree in the case, which will resolve any claims against the company without admission of guilt, according to the Justice Department’s news release. For its part, Cortland will need to comply with court-ordered terms that include no longer using competitor data to set rental prices.
Avenue 5, which is not part of the DOJ lawsuit, manages perhaps more properties in the Treasure Valley than any other large company. Its properties include North River, Jefferson West, the Willows, Curtis Meadow, Arbor Crossing and Vanguard in Boise; Prelude at Paramount, Old Town Lofts and Selway in Meridian; District 208 in Nampa; Tilian in Caldwell and more in the Boise area and North Idaho.
Avenue 5 has been accused in other lawsuits of rental price-fixing using RealPage software, but the websites of two Boise properties — the Vanguard and Ash and River townhomes — have a badge that states “No Yieldstar by RealPage,” referring to the software company’s flagship program.
Avenue 5 did not respond to a Statesman request for comment on whether other Idaho properties use RealPage programs.
Renters feel strain of Boise price hikes
It’s unclear if the property managers raised Idaho rental prices as a result of RealPage data sharing and pricing suggestions.
Rental prices in the Boise area have skyrocketed in recent years as Idaho has seen an influx of new residents. An analysis from Keller Williams Realty Boise showed average rental prices jumped nearly 19% between September 2021 and September 2024, though rents have fluctuated slightly below a March 2022 high of $2,085/month.
Rabe said large corporate landlords tend to have higher rental prices than “mom-and-pop type” landlords and are more likely to take tenants to court over evictions rather than allowing for a payment plan or other solution.
“More and more rentals are owned by larger corporate landlords now, and that is affecting how tenants are treated and how much tenants are paying,” Rabe told the Statesman. “We are seeing a lot more tenants paying larger and larger amounts every year. This is causing more tenants to struggle to make ends meet every month, and as a result, causing more people to be evicted and become homeless.”
