North Carolina reaches settlement with largest landlord over rent setting
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North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson and eight other attorneys general have settled a lawsuit with global real estate giant Greystar Management over its use of a software platform to set rents.
Why it matters: Greystar is the largest landlord in North Carolina, managing more than 25,000 rental units across the state, according to the attorney general's office.
Driving the news: South Carolina-based Greystar will pay $7 million to settle the lawsuit. The company is also agreeing to no longer use third-party software to price apartments (unless under court-appointed monitoring) or share competitive data from other landlords to set rent prices.
Zoom in: North Carolina and several other states have sued several of the country's largest apartment owners over their use of RealPage's rent-setting software.
- In 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice sued RealPage, alleging the company's software allows landlords to share competitive information and enables landlords to raise rents.
- Greystar has settled with the Department of Justice as well over its use of RealPage.
Between the lines: North Carolina is experiencing an apartment building boom, adding tens of thousands of new units in the past decade. Many of the buildings, which can hold hundreds of units each, are owned by the largest landlords in the country.
- The state still has lawsuits active against four landlords, as well as RealPage. Jackson's office said those four landlords manage around 70,000 units.
What they're saying: "This settlement means that more than 25,000 renters in North Carolina are going to be charged fairer prices for rent at a time when housing costs are overwhelming," Jackson said in a statement. "Companies can't use new technology, like AI, to break the law and hurt customers. If they try, we'll take them to court."
- In a statement, Greystar said that the firm is "pleased this matter is resolved and remain(s) focused on serving our residents and clients."
Editor's note: We've updated this story with a statement from Greystar.