A group of U.S. Senators wrote to the Department of Justice (DOJ) asking it to investigate RealPage's role in inflating rental prices.
Last year, a ProPublica probe found that property managers collude on RealPage's software to drive up rents for tenants.
The Senators wrote in the letter that the rise of institutional investors and rent-setting algorithms has weakened competition in the housing market.
- RealPage's software, called YieldStar, recommends prices for open rental properties based on rental rates provided by landlords and property managers.
- After the ProPublica probe last year, the DOJ's antitrust division launched an investigation into RealPage.
- According to RealPage's website, YieldStar contributes to the price decision for over 4M units and factors in transactions for more than 13M units.
