DOJ settles with LivCor over alleged rent-fixing scheme
The U.S. Department of Justice reached a proposed settlement with LivCor, a major landlord, over allegations that it participated in an anticompetitive rent-fixing scheme using pricing algorithms provided by RealPage to share competitively sensitive information with competitors. The settlement requires LivCor to cease using such algorithms and sharing pricing information, and to accept court-appointed monitoring of its pricing practices.
What happened
The Department of Justice and state co-plaintiffs filed a complaint against LivCor and five other landlords in January 2025, alleging they engaged in anticompetitive practices by using each other's competitively sensitive information through common pricing algorithms operated by RealPage to set rents.
The DOJ reached a proposed settlement with LivCor in December 2025 requiring the company to refrain from using anticompetitive algorithms, refrain from sharing competitively sensitive information with competitors, accept a court-appointed monitor if it uses uncertified third-party pricing algorithms, and refrain from participating in RealPage-hosted meetings of competing landlords.
Reported impact
The DOJ alleged the scheme caused harms to renters through artificially inflated rental prices resulting from competitors aligning prices and sharing competitively sensitive information through algorithms.
Index analysis
LivCor's statement said the agreement 'contains no finding of or admission of any wrongdoing,' though the settlement requires substantial changes to the company's pricing practices.
Governance controls
The settlement includes a provision for a court-appointed monitor to oversee LivCor's use of uncertified third-party pricing algorithms and requires cooperation with the DOJ's claims against other defendants.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.