Colorado’s Attorney General, Phil Weiser, has announced that the state has reached a partial settlement in its ongoing lawsuit concerning alleged rent price fixing.
In 2024, Colorado joined nine other states in filing a lawsuit against RealPage, a Texas-based software company that provides revenue management tools for property managers. The lawsuit accuses RealPage of using its software to illegally influence rent prices across multiple states.
The case expanded when six major landlords, who used RealPage’s software, were added as defendants. Among them, Cortland Management has agreed to stop using the controversial software and assist Colorado in its continued legal fight against RealPage.
Under the terms of the settlement, Cortland has committed to several key changes. The company is prohibited from using non-public data from other property management companies to set rent prices.
It must also avoid combining this data from different property owners, and will no longer share it with non-Cortland landlords. Additionally, Cortland is banned from using software that enforces artificial rent floors or limits on price reductions.
“We know that Coloradans are struggling with high rent costs, and landlords who collude through private data sharing are only making the problem worse,” said Weiser in a statement.
Cortland had previously settled with the U.S. Department of Justice over similar claims. In 2024, the Department filed a lawsuit accusing the company of violating antitrust laws, alleging that RealPage’s algorithm allowed landlords to coordinate rent prices and eliminate competition, driving up costs for renters.
Colorado residents who believe their landlords are engaged in similar practices are encouraged to file complaints with the attorney general’s office.
Related topics: