Attorney General Jeff Jackson Reaches Settlement with Landlord to Stop Using RealPage’s Unlawful Software
RALEIGH – Attorney General Jeff Jackson reached a settlement with Cortland Management LLC, one of the landlords he sued in January for illegally working with other landlords and using RealPage’s AI software to raise North Carolinians’ rents. Cortland is the second-largest North Carolina landlord of the ones Attorney General Jackson sued, with more than 5,000 units. Once the settlement is entered by the court, Cortland will stop using non-public data from other landlords, either through RealPage’s software or by other means, to set rents, making this one of the first settlements to restrict a major landlord from unlawfully using RealPage.
“Today’s settlement means one less landlord is using RealPage’s unlawful AI software to charge North Carolinians unfair rents,” said Attorney General Jeff Jackson. “We’re going to keep fighting this case to make sure all landlords and property managers play by the rules and people can afford rent.”
As a result of this settlement with Attorney General Jackson and the Attorney General of Colorado, Cortland will:
Stop using sensitive data from its competitors to inform its pricing model.
Not use third-party software or algorithms to price apartments, unless they do so under the supervision of a court-appointed monitor.
Cease sharing or using any competitively sensitive data from other landlords and property managers to set rent prices or generate recommended rent prices.
The agreement requires Cortland to report to the Attorney General’s Office on its efforts to comply with the consent judgment, allows the Attorney General to conduct inspections to ensure Cortland is in compliance and, if necessary, permits the Attorney General to enforce the terms of the agreement in court or extend the term of the agreement.
Attorney General Jackson’s bipartisan case against the other five landlords and software company RealPage continues. He is suing RealPage for allegedly exploiting landlords’ competitively sensitive information to create a pricing algorithm that inflated rent prices and violated antitrust laws. Attorney General Jackson’s case alleges that these landlords communicated with RealPage and each other to share non-public information about rent prices, occupancy, strategies for setting rents, and discounts – resulting in higher prices for rent than competitive market forces would have set.
These landlords own or manage more than 70,000 units throughout the state. The alleged illegal conduct harms North Carolinians who are struggling to pay rent and stay in their homes as rental prices increase, and they harm landlords who are trying to play fairly and follow the rules.
A copy of the settlement with Cortland is available here.
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