Oregon and several other states joined federal officials in suing RealPage, which provides rent-setting software, last year.
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A policy that would prohibit Portland landlords from using rental price-fixing software is gaining ground once again.
The Homelessness and Housing Committee has voted to send the proposal back to Portland City Council. The full council discussed the policy earlier in April of this year, but it was then referred back to the committee amid ongoing litigation.
“We pulled this item back from the agenda last council despite having full votes for it because we wanted to ensure that it was as precise as possible and that the city would be protected, just because of the complicated nature of this language,” Councilor Angelita Morillo, a sponsor of the ordinance, said during Tuesday’s meeting. “And we’ve seen that some of these large corporations have targeted cities that have been trying to protect renters via policies like this.”
Oregon and several other states joined the U.S. Department of Justice in suing RealPage, which provides rent-setting software, in August 2024. The lawsuit was later amended to include some of the “largest landlords” nationwide.
The DOJ accused the software company and property owners of hindering renters by using algorithmic pricing to determine housing costs. Former Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, who joined the initial federal complaint, alleged the defendants also violated the 1890 Sherman Act that prohibits anti-competitive practices.
In a presentation, Councilor Morillo’s Policy Advisor Suzy Deuster noted that two out of three of Portland’s largest landlords were named as defendants in the lawsuit. Those two manage more than 32,000 local housing units, or about 10% of the city’s housing stock overall, according to the policy advisory. She also said that five of the seven defendants — Camden Property Trust, Cortland Management, Cushman & Wakefield, Greystar Real Estate Partners, LivCor, Pinnacle Property Management Services and Willow Bridge Property Company — operate in Portland.
“The final stage of this is that participants profit at the expense of tenants, small landlords that don’t want to undercut their competition — they want to act in a free open marketplace — and local businesses as well,” Deuster said. “They’re harmed by this as well because businesses can’t earn the money of tenants that are forced to pay inflated rent prices.”
Since its first city council reading earlier this year, the proposal has been changed to focus on the act of price-fixing rather than the software that conducts the practice. Officials could also change the penalties to “be more in alignment with housing code,” larger landlords who manage more than 16 units facing larger penalties than mid-sized landlords and those with fewer than five units.
Two other proposed amendments, from Councilor Jamie Dunphy and Council President Elana Pirtle-Guiney, are expected to be read by the full council. Dunphy’s amendment honors a Home Forward request to clarify that regulated, affordable housing units are not impacted by the ordinance, while Pirtle-Guiney’s would address a potential policy loophole that could allow landlords to create legal entities to avoid enforcement.
Joseph Gardner, who testified on behalf of RealPage, argued that the ordinance could prohibit market analysis and spur more lawsuits against landlords. Councilor Morillo said the argument “smelled of desperation,” noting that Portland’s city attorney has worked alongside officials to update the language of the ordinance.
