Jacksonville, Fla. — Three companies that collectively operate nearly two dozen properties in Jacksonville are among the targets of a lawsuit spearheaded by the Department of Justice.
The suit contends some of the nation’s largest landlords have conspired to fix prices and drive up rents.
Nine states have also joined the lawsuit, but Florida is not one of them.
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For renters like Ade Adesanya, who is currently searching for a new place to live in Duval, prices have skyrocketed over the past few years.
“Rent in Jacksonville has been ridiculous so far. It’s difficult to be able to keep up with,” said Adesanya.
We ran into Adesanya outside the Edan at Kendall West apartments in Arlington, where he’d gone to see about renting an apartment.
He wasn’t impressed by the price. “The only reason I’m considering this is just the fact that it’s gonna be closer to the airport,” said Adesanya.
The property is owned by Greystar, which is one of the six landlords named in a lawsuit.
Among the companies named in the suit, Cushman and Wakefield and Willow Bridge Property Company also own properties in Jacksonville.
The lawsuit alleges the companies shared sensitive data with each other and leveraged pricing algorithms offered through a company called RealPage, which is also named in the suit, to artificially inflate rents.
Collectively, the companies operate 1.3 million units throughout 43 states.
In Jacksonville alone, we identified 22 properties owned by companies named in the suit.
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The lawsuit primarily aims to stop the companies from engaging in the alleged price fixing practices.
Specific relief for potentially impacted renters isn’t a part of the suit as it stands.
At least one company, Cortland Management LLC, has entered into a settlement with the DOJ and agreed to stop using the algorithms and shared data to set rents.
We reached out to the three companies that operate in Jacksonville for comment on the suit.
“At no time did Greystar engage in any anti-competitive practices. We will vigorously defend ourselves in this lawsuit,” said a spokesperson for Greystar in an emailed statement.
Adesanya said he hopes prices will go down eventually, but he’s not holding his breath.
“We don’t want our rent prices being inflated for no reason at all. So, it’s good to be optimistic, but to be honest with you I’m not looking forward to that any time soon,” said Adesanya.
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