The United States Department of Justice has agreed a proposed settlement with Willow Bridge Property Company LLC, a Dallas-based residential property manager, over its use of algorithmic rent-setting software supplied by RealPage Inc. The agreement, lodged in the US District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, is the latest resolution to emerge from the government's wide-ranging antitrust action targeting the use of shared data in the setting of apartment rents. Willow Bridge, which manages more than 240,000 residential units across the country, was represented by DLA Piper LLP (US).
The allegations at the centre of the case
The Antitrust Division alleged that Willow Bridge used RealPage's AI Revenue Management and YieldStar products to inform its pricing of rental units. According to the government, these tools drew on competitor data and nonpublic information supplied by participating landlords, which was then used to shape the rental prices recommended to property owners. The Justice Department's broader theory is that pooling such sensitive commercial information through a common software provider can soften competition between rival landlords who would otherwise set prices independently.
What the proposed settlement requires
Under the proposed Final Judgment, Willow Bridge would be barred from a range of practices connected to algorithmic pricing. The company would be prohibited from using revenue-management products that rely on external nonpublic data to generate rental prices, and from pooling information across different property owners. It would also be restricted from using pricing models trained on nonpublic competitor data, and from entering into certain agreements with other property owners concerning specific revenue-management tools. The restrictions are designed to sever the link between shared competitor data and the prices ultimately offered to tenants.
Part of a larger antitrust action
The settlement forms one strand of United States et al. v. RealPage et al., a case that has grown considerably since it began. The original complaint was filed on 23 August 2024, and an amended complaint on 7 January 2025 added Willow Bridge alongside five other companies. Several defendants in the same action have already reached agreements with the government, including RealPage itself, Cortland Management, Greystar Management Services and LivCor LLC. The case has been brought by the Justice Department together with a coalition of state attorneys general, reflecting the national scope of the rental market under scrutiny.
Next steps before approval
The proposed settlement is not yet final. In line with the Tunney Act, it must undergo a 60-day public comment period, during which the terms are published in the Federal Register and interested parties may submit their views. The court will consider any comments before deciding whether the settlement is in the public interest and granting final approval.
The wider implications of the RealPage litigation extend well beyond the individual defendants. The action has become a focal point in the debate over how competition law applies to algorithmic and data-driven pricing, an area where established doctrines developed for direct communication between rivals are being tested against automated systems. As regulators internationally weigh the competitive effects of shared pricing algorithms across housing and other consumer markets, the outcomes reached in this case are likely to shape how landlords, software vendors and their advisers approach revenue-management technology in the years ahead.
