Some Houston-area renters may be in line for compensation from a proposed $360 million settlement tied to claims that large apartment owners and managers relied on software to raise rents.
Even though the court fight has not fully wrapped up, eligible tenants can already start submitting claims.
Here’s what to know
According to The Houston Chronicle, as republished by Yahoo! News, the federal class action suit was filed in Tennessee in 2023 against about 50 defendants overall, and it includes allegations that more than 20 Houston-area multifamily firms used RealPage revenue management software to coordinate rent prices.
The outlet reported that many of the defendants — including major firms such as Camden Property Trust and Greystar — have chosen to settle without admitting wrongdoing, while cases continue against others. The agreement has received preliminary approval from a judge and is expected to be finalized in October. RealPage, its private equity owner Thoma Bravo, and a smaller group of landlords are still contesting the lawsuit.
The Houston Chronicle reported that renters could be compensated if they lived at properties that used RealPage between October 18, 2018, and November 21, 2025. Tenants can look up their apartment on the official settlement website, and some may still qualify to file a claim even if their landlord has not settled.
The amount any renter receives will be determined in part by how many claims are filed and whether more defendants later join the settlement fund. Tenants have until September 1 to opt out and until January 29, 2027, to file a claim.
More background
Plaintiffs allege that landlords shared nonpublic business data — including rents, lease terms, and occupancy rates — with RealPage and then used the company’s algorithmic pricing recommendations. According to the lawsuit, those recommendations were accepted about 90% of the time, The Houston Chronicle reported.
Economists estimated, as cited by The Houston Chronicle, that renters across nearly 50 major metro areas may have paid about 2% to 13% more than they otherwise would have. In Houston, San Antonio, and Austin, the estimated overcharge was about 4% over the roughly five-year span covered by the lawsuit. For a Houston apartment renting for $1,500 per month, that would amount to roughly $720 in additional annual costs.
Court documents cited by The Houston Chronicle say several firms with Houston ties have agreed to sizable payments, including $53 million from Camden, $50 million from Greystar, and $18 million from Cortland Management.
The legal fight could also shape how large landlords use pricing software in the future, especially as regulators and renters pay closer attention to whether the technology is being used fairly.
RealPage continues to deny the core claims. As Patrick Mendoza, a spokesperson for RealPage, put it, as reported by The Houston Chronicle: “Affordability challenges are driven by an undersupply of housing, not by math and data that reflect the realities of the underlying housing market.”
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