DOJ will examine whether RealPage helped landlords coordinate rent increases
Collusion / price fixing as a service.<p>I'm sure a decent chunk of HN's population has lived or lives in properties that are or were using RealPage.<p>Rant/Anecdote ahead:<p>We have recently decided to rent from a house from a private landlord after equity (a RealPage customer), "offered" us a 15% rent hike which they considered "reasonable" after massively cutting staff, service, security & amenities during covid.
Practically every other building in the area (downtown Redmond, WA) has increased prices in unison so there is basically 0 competition.<p>These companies have turned areas they operate into upscale meat grinders that lure you with a "welcome" price only to systematically hike up your rent way beyond inflation. To slowly push you out if your salary doesn't grow faster to equal to their hikes.<p>Many of our friends have similar experiences.<p>Imo corporate landlords need to be heavily regulated and need to be broken up.