RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN/ WJZY) — North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson took legal action Tuesday against six landlords accused of illegally raising rent prices in the state.
“A one-bedroom like $1900, which is absurd,” said Huntersville resident Jasmine.
That’s one of the main issues Jasmine has experienced while searching for a new place to call home.
“And the square footing of the place is very small, so you’re just not getting the best bang for your buck,” she said.
She lives with her parents in Huntersville now, but with rent prices continuing to skyrocket, she may have to stay there a little longer than she’d planned.
“Pay, obviously, is not matching the needs of the city. So it’s actually been a challenge. But I am so looking hopeful. I’ll find something soon, Jasmine said.
And change could be on the way soon. The Justice Department filed an amended complaint in a lawsuit against RealPage—a software company that uses artificial intelligence in its products.
The North Carolina Attorney General’s Office alleges Greystar Real Estate Partners, Blackstone’s LivCor, Camden Property Trust, Cushman & Wakefield, Pinnacle Property Management Services, Willow Bridge Property Company, and Cortland Management illegally worked together and with the software company RealPage to raise rent prices for North Carolina residents.
According to the attorney general’s office, the six landlords own or manage more than 70,000 units throughout the state, mostly in the Triangle and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg areas.
The lawsuit against the landlords is part of an ongoing bipartisan case against RealPage, which began last August. RealPage is accused of exploiting landlords’ competitively sensitive information to create a pricing algorithm in violation of antitrust laws, resulting in renters paying inflated prices.
Jackson alleges the landlords communicated with RealPage and each other to share non-public information about rent prices, occupancy, strategies for setting rents, and discounts, allowing landlords using RealPage’s products to set higher prices for rent than competitive market forces would have set.
“North Carolinians are struggling to afford their rent as it is,” Jackson said in a statement. “We won’t stand for landlords and real estate companies making the problem worse to line their own pockets I’m suing these landlords to make sure they play by the rules so North Carolinians can get fair prices for rent.”
“Just people taking advantage of people, unfortunately,” Charlton Herpst said.
Herpst rented for 12 years. He says watching the rates steadily creep up is what forced him into becoming a homeowner. He was happy to hear those six attorneys general, including North Carolina’s, are fighting for people’s well-being.
“Rent prices should be moderate. They should not be as high as they are. They should be more affordable. People should be able to live and provide for their family, shop and eat healthy, and go out to eat. They should be able to do all these things on an $80,000 salary and be comfortable,” Herpst said.
The United States Department of Justice joined North Carolina in the lawsuit, along with nine other states: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oregon, Tennessee, and Washington. It was filed in the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina.
