The ongoing legal battle over alleged antitrust violations in the rental housing market intensified this week, as Colorado's Attorney General Phil Weiser, in concert with the Justice Department, leveled an amended complaint against a cadre of the country's largest landlords, according to the Colorado Attorney General's Office. Firms like Greystar, LivCor, Camden Property Trust, Cushman, Willow Bridge, and Cortland, who between them oversee more than 1.3 million units across the United States, are accused of colluding via an algorithm to set rent prices, effectively hamstringing competition and squeezing tenants financially.

This legal maneuver expands upon a 2024 lawsuit against RealPage, a company providing property management software alleged to facilitate collusion between landlords by inputting copious amounts of sensitive competitive data into a proprietary algorithm, this data composition included executed lease rents, lease terms, vacancy projections, all contributing to the algorithm's near real-time pricing suggestions back to the landlords which in demand-heavy markets could, and often did, result in artificial inflation of rental prices through calculated scarcity. The amended complaint is supported by a coalition of states, with Illinois and Massachusetts joining the ranks of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, and Washington in this pursuit of justice.

Although a settlement has reportedly been reached with Cortland, one of the accused, Attorney General Weiser has stated that Colorado will not currently participate in this settlement. "Many Coloradans are struggling to afford housing and pay rent," said Weiser, emphasizing the state's commitment to considering collaborative solutions while also ensuring that any rent-raising misconduct is addressed and responsibility enforced, as published by the Colorado Attorney General's Office.