“The AELP has falsely blamed rising rents on RealPage’s software rather than acknowledging the real issue: insufficient housing supply,” the lawsuit states. “Some municipalities have embraced this baseless narrative to deflect attention from their own policies that hinder new housing development.”
Broader Legal Challenges Loom
RealPage’s battle with Berkeley is just one front in a larger war. The company is currently embroiled in an antitrust lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice and nine states, accusing it of enabling coordinated rent-setting practices among landlords. The Justice Department’s case, filed in August 2024, argues that RealPage’s software aggregates rental data in a way that facilitates price-fixing.
“To RealPage, the ‘greater good’ is served by ensuring that competing landlords can align pricing—robbing renters of competitive pricing and leasing terms,” prosecutors claim.
The company is also facing related legal scrutiny in Washington, D.C., and Arizona, as well as a major multidistrict litigation in Tennessee, where similar claims have been playing out for two years.
Seeking Injunction Against Berkeley
In its lawsuit, RealPage is requesting an injunction to block the ordinance before it takes effect, asserting that the law would cause lasting damage to innovation in the rental market.
