Lawsuits allege corporate landlords used property management software RealPage to cooperatively raise rents. The impact on the Atlanta rental market appears to be broad enough that the Feds are investigating for potential criminal conspiracy.

As if there weren’t already enough forces driving unaffordably high rental rates, which have jumped by 30 percent over the last four years, Popular Information reports that the Department of Justice is investigating another potential cause: a “massive criminal conspiracy among large landlords” to “artificially increase rents through collusion.”
According to reporter Judd Legum, the FBI conducted a raid on a major corporate landlord based in Atlanta called Cortland Management, which “appears to be part of a Department of Justice criminal investigation, first reported by Politico in March. “The investigation centers around the use of RealPage, advanced property management software used by many corporate landlords,” which a lawsuit file by the State of Arizona in February claims puts significant pressure on landlords — who are supposed to be competitors — to outsource pricing authority and adopt RealPage’s prices rather than competing with one another. “The system has resulted in large rent increases that were previously unthinkable, according to RealPage's own executives,” Legum reports.
So why is the FBI focusing on Cortland Management in Atlanta? The agency hasn’t said, but a class-action lawsuits revealed “landlords using RealPage account for over 53% of the multifamily rental market in the Atlanta Submarket” and the use of RealPage in Atlanta has coincided with a 56 percent rental increase since 2016, Legum reports. RealPage also controls large market shares in Baltimore, Charlotte, Houston, and Miami.
FULL STORY: Feds raid corporate landlord, escalating nationwide criminal probe of rent increases

Montreal Mall to Become 6,000 Housing Units
Place Versailles will be transformed into a mixed-use complex over the next 25 years.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Four Reasons Urban Planners Can’t Ignore AI
It’s no longer a question of whether AI will shape planning, but how. That how is up to us.

Bend, Deschutes County Move to Restrict Major Homeless Encampment
City and county officials are closing off portions of an area known as Juniper Ridge where many unhoused residents find shelter, hoping to direct people to housing and supportive services.

High Housing Costs Driving Down Transit Ridership in LA
When neighborhoods gentrify and displace lower-income residents, transit ridership suffers, new research shows.

Iowa Legalizes Accessory Dwelling Units
A new law will allow property owners to build ADUs on single-family lots starting on July 1.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Mt Shasta
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada