The FBI conducted an unannounced raid on the Atlanta headquarters of Cortland Management, a major corporate landlord, as part of a criminal antitrust investigation by the Department of Justice into allegations of a nationwide conspiracy to artificially inflate apartment rents[1][2][3][4][5].
The probe centers around RealPage, a software firm accused of helping orchestrate price-fixing among large landlords through its rental pricing system used by 70% of multifamily buildings nationwide[1][2][3][4][5]. RealPage's system allegedly encourages landlords to adopt its pricing recommendations, which they follow 80-90% of the time, reducing rental supply and driving up prices in a coordinated manner[2][3][4][5].
The impact is evident in Atlanta, where software pricing affects 81% of units and rents surged 80% since 2016 despite rising vacancies[1][2][4][5]. RealPage's acquisition of its main rival in 2017 gave it unprecedented control over rental pricing[1][4].
If proven true, the artificially inflated rents resulting from this alleged scheme have placed undue financial burden on millions of renters across the country[2][3][4]. The investigation has far-reaching implications for the rental market and could potentially benefit renters if the practices are halted[1][2][3][4][5].
Sources
[1] https://www.entrepreneur.com/business-news/realpage-rent-price-fixing-probe-escalates-with-fbi-raid/475109
[2] FBI raids corporate landlord office, escalating criminal investigation ... https://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/1d9u68i/fbi_raids_corporate_landlord_office_escalating/
[3] FBI Raids Corporate Landlord in Major Rent Price-Fixing Probe https://www.pymnts.com/cpi-posts/fbi-raids-corporate-landlord-in-major-rent-price-fixing-probe/
[4] FBI Raids Corporate Landlord in Major Rent Price-Fixing Probe https://upriseri.com/fbi-raids-corporate-landlord-in-major-rent-price-fixing-probe-what-it-means-for-you/
[5] FBI Raids Corporate Landlord in Rental Price-Fixing Investigation https://nowbam.com/fbi-raids-corporate-landlord-in-rental-price-fixing-investigation/