NDP asks competition watchdog to probe potential rent-fixing by corporate landlords — U.S. Justice Department filed lawsuit against real estate software company RealPage last month
NDP asks competition watchdog to probe potential rent-fixing by corporate landlords — U.S. Justice Department filed lawsuit against real estate software company RealPage last month
*The NDP is asking the Competition Bureau to investigate whether Canadian corporate landlords are using the same AI software that sparked an antitrust lawsuit in the United States.*
*The U.S. Justice Department filed the lawsuit last month against real estate software company RealPage Inc., accusing it of an illegal scheme that allows landlords to co-ordinate hikes in rental prices.*
*The lawsuit was filed alongside attorneys general in multiple states, including North Carolina and California. It alleges the company is violating antitrust laws through its algorithm, which landlords use to get recommended rental prices for millions of apartments across the country.*
*NDP MPs Alexandre Boulerice and Brian Masse sent a letter to commissioner Matthew Boswell asking the bureau to launch a probe into whether Canadian landlords have used the same software, YieldStar.**
*[…] Toronto resident Cynthia Black recalled her property management company had mentioned YieldStar during an April, 2023 negotiation between her tenants association and the building’s ownership.*
*The Livmore Tenants Association where Ms. Black lives formed in 2022 after two recently built buildings in a rental complex near Toronto’s High Park began sending residents rent increases as high as 7 to 14 per cent.*
*Great West Life Realty Advisors Inc.’s Canadian Real Estate Investment Fund owns the entire complex and the tenants met with Todd Spencer, who oversees 40 properties and more than 10,000 rental units as vice-president of national operations for GWLRA.*
*According to Ms. Black, Mr. Spencer told them that YieldStar’s recommendations were calculated by an algorithm and were much higher than what he was passing on to tenants, because the company had chosen more “manageable” increases.*
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Excerpts from Canadian Press [article](https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/rent-fixing-ndp-1.7329896) by Nojoud Al Mallees:
*The NDP is asking the Competition Bureau to investigate whether Canadian corporate landlords are using the same AI software that sparked an antitrust lawsuit in the United States.*
*The U.S. Justice Department filed the lawsuit last month against real estate software company RealPage Inc., accusing it of an illegal scheme that allows landlords to co-ordinate hikes in rental prices.*
*The lawsuit was filed alongside attorneys general in multiple states, including North Carolina and California. It alleges the company is violating antitrust laws through its algorithm, which landlords use to get recommended rental prices for millions of apartments across the country.*
*NDP MPs Alexandre Boulerice and Brian Masse sent a letter to commissioner Matthew Boswell asking the bureau to launch a probe into whether Canadian landlords have used the same software, YieldStar.**
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*Excerpts from [Globe and Mail article](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/real-estate/article-tenant-groups-call-for-scrutiny-of-american-software-company-after-us/), July 24, 2024:
*[…] Toronto resident Cynthia Black recalled her property management company had mentioned YieldStar during an April, 2023 negotiation between her tenants association and the building’s ownership.*
*The Livmore Tenants Association where Ms. Black lives formed in 2022 after two recently built buildings in a rental complex near Toronto’s High Park began sending residents rent increases as high as 7 to 14 per cent.*
*Great West Life Realty Advisors Inc.’s Canadian Real Estate Investment Fund owns the entire complex and the tenants met with Todd Spencer, who oversees 40 properties and more than 10,000 rental units as vice-president of national operations for GWLRA.*
*According to Ms. Black, Mr. Spencer told them that YieldStar’s recommendations were calculated by an algorithm and were much higher than what he was passing on to tenants, because the company had chosen more “manageable” increases.*