William C. Smith & Co., Inc. (W.C. Smith), one of the District’s largest landlords, will pay $1.05 million and overhaul its rent-setting practices after D.C. Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb accused the company of conspiring with other landlords to inflate apartment rents using software from RealPage, Inc.
The settlement is the first to result from the District’s sweeping antitrust lawsuit filed in November 2023 against RealPage and multiple landlords.
The lawsuit alleges a wide-ranging scheme in which landlords shared confidential rental data and relied on RealPage’s pricing algorithms to drive up rents across more than 50,000 apartment units in the city. W.C. Smith owns over 9,000 of those units.
“Rents in D.C. are already sky-high, and amidst this housing affordability crisis, many of the District’s top landlords operated as a housing cartel — illegally colluding to push rents even higher,” Schwalb said. “I commend W.C. Smith for putting an end to its anti-competitive practices and cooperating with my office to reach this agreement. We will continue working to hold RealPage and the remaining landlords accountable.”
RealPage’s software, known as revenue management (RM) technology, relies on non-public, competitively sensitive data to set rents. In the District, about 60% of units in large multifamily buildings use such pricing software. Critics argue that the system eliminates competition, allowing landlords to act in concert and sidestep market forces.
According to the Office of the Attorney General (OAG), W.C. Smith shared confidential rent and occupancy data with RealPage and followed rent recommendations generated by the software, which was built using private information from competing landlords. The company ceased using RealPage’s software in December 2023.
As part of the consent judgment approved by the D.C. Superior Court, W.C. Smith must:
- Pay $1.05 million, with installments through 2028, to cover penalties, legal costs, and payments for impacted tenants.
- Permanently stop using any software that relies on confidential data from competitors to set rents.
- Prohibit its staff from encouraging others to use or rely on RM software that lacks market transparency.
- Adopt internal policies to prevent the exchange of non-public information with competitors.
- Cooperate with any future investigations or enforcement actions related to RealPage or other antitrust matters.
The settlement also allows for an independent monitor to ensure W.C. Smith complies with the new restrictions. The monitor will review company reports and have access to staff, documents, and meetings to verify continued adherence.
While W.C. Smith denies wrongdoing, the agreement ends all claims brought against it in the lawsuit. The company has agreed to cooperate with the Attorney General’s office through 2030, including in other ongoing litigation involving RealPage software.
“As the District’s independent attorney general, I will always fight for fair market conditions to protect District residents and ensure a level playing field for law-abiding businesses,” Schwalb said.