Regulatory agency calls for investigation into possible rent-fixing in Colorado

The president of a bipartisan business watchdog has called on Colorado authorities to investigate whether five prominent property management companies worked together to artificially inflate rents in the Front Range area.

Caroline Ciccone, president of Accountable.US, wrote a letter to Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser on Monday urging his office to closely investigate the activities of these companies, which together manage thousands of rental properties in the region. Ciccone’s request followed a lawsuit filed by District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb alleging the companies illegally colluded to inflate rental prices by sharing data with property management software company RealPage.

DC’s lawsuit accuses RealPage of using an algorithm to artificially inflate prices on over 50,000 apartments managed by a consortium of corporate landlords. This alleged coordination and data sharing violates DC’s antitrust laws.

The companies involved in the lawsuit – Mid-America Apartments, AvalonBay Communities, Equity Residential, Camden Property Trust and UDR – also have significant presence in Colorado. As of the end of March, Mid-America Apartments managed 1,202 units in Denver, AvalonBay Communities managed 1,539 units, Camden Property Trust managed 2,873 units, Equity Residential managed 2,505 units and UDR operated 218 units.

While Accountable.US has not provided direct evidence of collusion in Colorado, its suspicions are based on patterns observed in other regions. Ciccone’s letter highlights the potential for similar misconduct in Colorado, given the companies’ extensive presence in the state.

“Your office has the ability to determine whether these companies have also engaged in illegal price fixing and collusion in Colorado to further increase their profits, as they have been accused of doing elsewhere – and the power to hold them accountable if they do,” Ciccone said in her letter to AG Weiser.

The call for an investigation comes at a time when rental prices are a significant concern for many Coloradans and debates are underway about housing affordability and fair market practices.

Source: Montrose Press