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Title: Makers of Rent-Setting Software Sue California City Over Ban

Link: https://yro.slashdot.org/story/25/04/05/21242...

Berkeley, California is "the latest city to try to block landlords from using
algorithms when deciding rents," reports the Associated Press (noting that
officials in many cities claim the practice is driving up the price of
housing). But then real estate software company RealPage filed a federal
lawsuit against Berkeley on Wednesday: Texas-based RealPage said Berkeley's
ordinance, which goes into effect this month violates the company's free
speech rights and is the result of an "intentional campaign of misinformation
and often-repeated false claims" about its products. The U.S. Department of
Justice sued Realpage in August under former President Joe Biden, saying its
algorithm combines confidential information from each real estate management
company in ways that enable landlords to align prices and avoid competition
that would otherwise push down rents. That amounts to cartel-like illegal
price collusion, prosecutors said. RealPage's clients include huge landlords
who collectively oversee millions of units across the U.S. In the lawsuit,
the DOJ pointed to RealPage executives' own words about how their product
maximizes prices for landlords. One executive said, "There is greater good in
everybody succeeding versus essentially trying to compete against one another
in a way that actually keeps the entire industry down." San Francisco,
Philadelphia and Minneapolis have since passed ordinances restricting
landlords from using rental algorithms. The DOJ case remains ongoing, as do
lawsuits against RealPage brought by tenants and the attorneys general of
Arizona and Washington, D.C... [On a conference call, RealPage attorney
Stephen Weissman told reporters] RealPage officials were never given an
opportunity to present their arguments to the Berkeley City Council before
the ordinance was passed and said the company is considering legal action
against other cities that have passed similar policies, including San
Francisco. RealPage blames high rents not on the software they make, but on a
lack of housing supply...

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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