The Brief
- The Justice Department is suing six of the nation’s largest landlords over an “unlawful scheme.”
- The DOJ said the companies used anti-competitive pricing algorithms and shared pricing information.
- Four of the landlords named in the suit operate properties in the Twin Cities metro.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – The Justice Department on Tuesday announced a lawsuit against six of the nation’s largest landlords, arguing that they schemed to drive up rent by using anti-competitive pricing algorithms and sharing information with each other.
Justice Department: Landlords’ scheme “harms millions of American renters”
The backstory:
The lawsuit named Camden, LivCor, Greystar, Cushman & Wakefield, Willow Bridge and Cortland as defendants. The latter four companies have a footprint in the Twin Cities metro. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is one of 10 attorneys general to join the lawsuit as a co-plaintiff.
“The idea is that landlords are conspiring to keep rents high for renters rather than allowing the market to normally set them to a rate that’s reasonable,” said Julia Zwak, an attorney at Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid. “They’re getting information that normally competitors in the market wouldn’t be sharing with one another.”
Federal lawsuit comes as Minnesota grapples with housing crisis
What they’re saying:…