FTC Chairman Listens to Concerns About Rent Abuse in Atlanta

Khan also addressed the impact of rental prices by an algorithm used by Texas-based company RealPage, in response to a question from the AJC. President Biden’s Justice Department is reportedly deepening its investigation into price-fixing at RealPage regarding its rental pricing software and whether it colluded with landlords to raise rents.

Last month, the FBI raided the Atlanta office of Cortland Management, a multifamily real estate developer, as part of the Justice Department’s investigation “into potential antitrust violations in the multifamily housing industry.” the company confirmed.

Cortland, who said neither the company nor its employees were targets of the investigation, is one of several business owners facing civil lawsuits for their alleged role in an alleged nationwide plot to fix and inflating rental prices for multi-family homes.

“It’s something we need to watch very closely,” Khan said. “We see that these AI tools and algorithms can provide all kinds of benefits, but they can also create risks and create opportunities for companies to break the law through new tactics and means. »

She added that there are “no exemptions for AI from existing laws” when it comes to pricing.

Taylor Shelton, an assistant professor at Georgia State University who attended Friday’s listening session with Khan, said in an interview before the meeting that he was “cautiously optimistic” about the results of the federal government’s investigation on RealPage and dozens of class action lawsuits around it. the country.

The survey highlights the problem of business owners taking over the housing rental market, leaving renters with little choice of other places to go to find better prices, Shelton said. The algorithmic price-fixing under investigation by the Justice Department contributes to more and more money being taken away from workers and falling into “the hands of these hedge funds and investors,” he said. he declared.

Among 20 major U.S. cities, Atlanta has the largest share of investor-owned single-family rental properties, according to a recent report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

Shelton said his research shows three landlords own 11 percent of all single-family rental properties in Fulton, DeKalb, Cobb, Gwinnett and Clayton counties.

Alison Johnson, executive director of the Housing Justice League, also attended the listening session. Before the meeting, she said in an interview that one of her biggest priorities was defending Senate Bill 125 in the Georgia General Assembly’s next session. The bill would repeal the state’s ban on rent control, allowing local governments to implement such policies.

Johnson is also concerned about “unwanted fees” being charged to tenants. Examples include charging tenants for throwing their trash in a dumpster or for using the pool at a residential property that had described the pool as one of its amenities.

Often, she said, landlords charge tenants $500 in total administrative fees.

“Our primary goal is to expand tenant protections and address the need to control corporate investors taking over these communities,” Johnson said. “There is a housing crisis in Georgia – in the country too. People don’t have the means to live.

Johnson said the Housing Justice League will hold a public meeting Saturday where politicians, tenants and tenant advocates will discuss the importance of SB125. The gathering begins at 11 a.m. at In His Image Church at 630 Kurt Drive SW in Cobb County.