(The Center Square) – North Carolina is one of nine states splitting $7 million it can use for antitrust actions and consumer protections after a settlement was reached with Greystar Management.
The largest landlord with more than 25,000 units in the state was accused of working with RealPage’s artificial intelligence software to raise the rents for North Carolinians. First-term Democratic Attorney General Jeff Jackson, in a release, says that is illegal.
The settlement is a dismissal with prejudice. The litigation says, “Defendant is consenting to this Consent Judgment solely for the purpose of settlement, and nothing contained herein may be taken as or construed to be an admission or concession of any violation of law, rule or regulation, or any other matter of fact or law, or of any liability or wrongdoing in the Settling States, all of which Defendant expressly denies.”
Greystar, per terms of the pact, will not use nonpublic data from other landlords through RealPage software or other means to set rents.
“This settlement means that more than 25,000 renters in North Carolina are going to be charged fairer prices for rent at a time when housing costs are overwhelming,” Jackson said. “Companies can’t use new technology, like AI, to break the law and hurt customers. If they try, we’ll take them to court.”
Renters do not get any of the $7 million. States can use it for fees and expenses in antitrust or consumer protection law enforcement; deposit into a state antitrust or consumer protection account; deposit into a fund exclusively dedicated to enforcing antitrust laws and defraying costs of experts, economists and consultants, or training; or other purposes consistent with various states’ laws.
The filing was made in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina. Greystar is headquartered in Charleston, S.C.
California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oregon, and Tennessee were the other states in the litigation.
