‘Absolutely egregious’: North Carolina attorney general sues landlords over alleged rent raising collusion

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) – North Carolina’s attorney general says six landlords operating in the state – including two with properties in southeast North Carolina – are colluding together to illegally raise rent prices.

On Tuesday, Jeff Jackson filed a lawsuit alongside nine other states, targeting the landlords and RealPage, a software company that the AG said uses artificial intelligence software to tell companies the rent they should be charging.

“It’s impacting tens of thousands of people across the state, at least 70,000 people, who are renting apartments,” Jackson told WECT Wednesday.

The lawsuit mentions Greystar and Willow Brook, two companies with a presence in the Cape Fear. Greystar has 12 properties in the region across New Hanover and Brunswick Counties. Among them are The Range On Oleander, Element Barclay and City Block. Willow Bridge oversees two complexes: Bellingham Park and Crosswinds Apartments, both in Wilmington.

Comment requests for RealPage and Willow Brook were both not returned.

A Greystar corporate spokesperson referred WECT to the following statement: “We are disappointed that the DOJ added us and other operators to their lawsuit against RealPage. Greystar has and will conduct its business with the utmost integrity. At no time did Greystar engage in any anti-competitive practices. We will vigorously defend ourselves in this lawsuit.”

What the companies are allegedly doing digitally would be illegal if it was done in-person, Jackson said.

“What they can do, in effect, is collude when it comes to prices,” he said. “And some have given quotes that are absolutely egregious.”

Elizabeth Wilson, who rents at The Range, said she’s concerned about already-high rent prices in the region, and how the companies’ alleged behavior can impact that.

“We have a 2-year-old son, and to think that if they raise the rent, you get kicked out, what do you do? And then before you know it, you’re scrambling and you’re living with your parents, and that’s scary. Who wants to do that” she said.

The lawsuit is built on a previous one filed by Jackson’s predecessor, Josh Stein, back in August, which alleged RealPage was raising rent prices illegally. Jackson believes the suit can continue to grow, with North Carolina at the center of it.

“Our primary goal is to stop illegal behavior that is raising rents for thousands of North Carolinians, and I think we can accomplish that,” he said.

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