25,000 NC renters could see fairer prices after a landmark deal. What is it?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Attorney General settlement bars Greystar from AI rent pricing, aiding 25,000 renters
- Deal requires Greystar to stop sharing nonpublic data and using algorithmic pricing
- State will monitor compliance while broader antitrust suit against RealPage proceeds
More than 25,000 North Carolinians could soon see relief from soaring rents after Attorney General Jeff Jackson struck a $7 million settlement with the state’s largest landlord.
The deal forces South-Carolina based Greystar Management LLC to abandon the use of AI-driven pricing software that regulators say fueled widespread rent hikes.
It’s the second settlement in recent months, part of an ongoing lawsuit against Texas-based RealPage and a handful of big-name landlords accused of using artificial intelligence (AI) software to “sidestep” market competition and illegally set rents.
“Companies can’t use new technology, like AI, to break the law and hurt customers,” Jackson said in a release.
“If they try, we’ll take them to court.”
In January, the state sued the software company and six landlords, including Greystar, accusing them of illegally working together and using RealPage’s AI software to inflate rents for approximately a third of one- and two-bedroom apartments in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and Charlotte.
The state lawsuit argued that RealPage’s algorithm allowed landlords to share non‑public, sensitive data, like occupancy rates, rent levels and discount strategies, to align pricing across markets.
This practice, they argued, amounted to price‑fixing, traditionally illegal under antitrust law.
In addition to Greystar, the lawsuit includes Cortland, Blackstone’s LivCor, Camden Property Trust, Cushman & Wakefield, Pinnacle Property Management Services and Willow Bridge Property.
Together, these landlords own or manage more than 70,000 units throughout the state.
The case expanded a previous antitrust lawsuit filed with the federal government and seven other states in August 2024, accusing RealPage of an “unlawful information-sharing scheme.”
In April, the state settled with Atlanta-based private-equity Cortland, which manages over 5,000 units in dozens of apartment communities across the state.
The latest ruling is expected to have an even greater impact.
Greystar is the world’s largest property management company, and across the greater Triangle region. It oversees 104 housing communities — from Chapel Hill to Wendell. Among them: The Dillon apartments in downtown Raleigh, Liberty Warehouse in downtown Durham, and Republic Flats in Research Triangle Park.
Under the deal, Greystar has agreed to stop:
- Using non-public data from other landlords, either through RealPage’s software or by other means, to set rents.
- Using third-party software or algorithms to price apartments, unless they do so under the supervision of a court-appointed monitor.
- Sharing or using any competitively sensitive data from other landlords and property managers to set rent prices or generate recommended rent prices.
- Attending or participating in RealPage-hosted meetings of competing landlords.
Greystar will report to the Attorney General’s Office, which will participate in inspections to ensure “compliance and, if necessary, can enforce the terms of the agreement in court or extend the term of the agreement.”
On Friday, Garrett Derderian, Greystar’s head of external communications, said the company is moving forward.
“We’re pleased this matter is resolved and remain focused on serving our residents and clients,” he said in an email.
Jackson’s bipartisan case against the other four landlords and RealPage continues.
North Carolina has some 1.4 million renters, and the gap between wages and housing costs is growing.
The fair market rate for a two-bedroom rental home was $1,646 in 2024. A minimum-wage worker would have to work 4.4 full-time jobs to pay that rent, according to Out Of Reach, a new report released by the National Low Income Housing Coalition.
