Washington Post gift article: “Millions of rents across the United States may now be set using one company’s algorithmic software, according to a federal lawsuit and a Washington Post analysis. RealPage, a property management software company, uses a trove of data to suggest rental prices to landlords. The software has been widely adopted by property managers — and is now facing strenuous legal pushback. Over the past three years, the company has been sued by the federal government, which alleged in August that it unlawfully decreases competition among landlords; by several individuals; and by the governments of Arizona and D.C., which have accused RealPage and dozens of property management companies of colluding to raise prices. On Tuesday, the Justice Department expanded its suit to sue six large landlords, which it says operate in 43 states and D.C. To assess how widespread use of RealPage’s rent software may be, The Post identified 3.1 million market-rate rental units managed by companies named in the lawsuits. That analysis found 10 counties where more than 1 in 3 multifamily units are managed by a property company allegedly using a rent-setting program from RealPage…”