The Justice Department has expanded a lawsuit against the real estate software company RealPage, adding six of the biggest landlords and property management companies in the country to the suit and alleging that they coordinated to keep rents artificially high.

Millions of rents across the country may now be set using one company’s algorithmic software, according to a federal lawsuit and a Washington Post analysis.

An amended complaint names six landlords as defendants in ongoing litigation that North Carolina and several other states, along with the federal government, began in August.

High rent prices in D.C. have long frustrated residents in the District. “When I was looking at prices, I said, ‘Can you write down the prices of the units we saw?’ And they said no because the prices change every day,

The Department of Justice alleges several property management companies colluded to inflate rents using algorithmic software, harming millions of renters in Houston and across the country.

The real estate companies kept rents high with RealPage's software and by sharing information, the antitrust complaint says.

The US Justice Department is taking legal action against several landlords accused of collaborating to artificially maintain high rent prices. This lawsuit emerges amidst a tough housing market where many renters find themselves spending over 30% of their income on rent and utilities.

The lawsuit arrives as U.S. renters continue to struggle. The latest figures show that half of American renters spent more than 30% of their income on rent and utilities in 2022, an all-time high.

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a lawsuit Tuesday against six corporate landlords and a software company accused of colluding to fix rent prices by sharing sensitive competitive

High rent prices in D.C. are frustrating for renters.