Hagens Berman

Antitrust Lawsuit Accuses 18 Property Management Companies and Yardi Systems of Rent Price-Fixing Scheme Affecting Millions of Renters

Eighteen property management companies, together with property management software company Yardi Systems Inc., were named in an antitrust class-action lawsuit filed today accusing the alleged cartel of orchestrating a nationwide scheme to fix the cost of multifamily apartment rent, according to attorneys at Hagens Berman.

The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington and accuses the conspirators of colluding to coordinate pricing through the usage of a centralized, automated pricing software, “RENTmaximizer,” created by Yardi Systems in 2011. By 2013, the software was used to price 8 million residential units. The new lawsuit falls on the heels of the law firm’s class action against RealPage alleging similar rent price-fixing tactics.

The class action names as defendants or co-conspirators the following property management companies using Yardi’s RENTmaximizer and “Revenue IQ” revenue management software: Bridge Property Management LLC, Calibrate Property Management LLC, Clear Property Management LLC, Dalton Management Inc., HNN Associates LLC, LeFever Matson, Manco Abbott Inc., Morguard Corporation, Pillar Properties LLC, Summit Management Services Inc., Creekwood Property Corporation (Tonti Properties), Legacy Partners Inc., Jones Lang Lasalle Incorporated (JLL), Alco Management Inc., McWhinney Property Management LLC, KRE Group Inc., Towne Properties and Tribridge Residential LLC.

If you rented an apartment from any one of the above listed companies or any other property management company using Yardi’s RENTmaximizer since September 2019, find out more about your consumers rights.

“Our antitrust legal team has uncovered what we believe to be a clear gaming of the system through controlled, lockstep algorithmic increases to fix the cost of rent — one that has affected millions of renters,” said Steve Berman, managing partner and co-founder of Hagens Berman. “Housing is a basic human need. What these companies have done is both legally and morally bankrupt.”

How 18 Competing Companies Conspired to Raise Rent

The class action centers on Yardi’s RENTmaximizer, a complex software used to automatically manage the rental pricing of multi-unit properties across the country, with the express goal of — as implied by the name — increasing the price of rent, according to the law firm.

The lawsuit quotes Yardi’s senior vice president of sales, who explained in 2016 that, “‘[b]y automating rental pricing that factors in portfolio and market data, RENTmaximizer not only improves rental income while maintaining occupancy, it simplifies the process by eliminating rent rate guesswork and traditional sales devices such as concessions and specials.’”