Tennessee announced on Wednesday that it had reached a settlement with Greystar Management Services, LLC, regarding allegations of anticompetitive practices that artificially increased rents for state residents.
The Volunteer State joined the multi-state lawsuit against the company last year.
Besides Tennessee, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, and Oregon are also involved in the settlement.
These states investigated Greystar using an algorithmic pricing scheme that allowed property management companies to share supply and pricing data. The states claimed these companies were able to artificially raise rental prices and minimize competition in multi-family housing markets through data sharing.
Greystar used RealPage’s software to set its inflated prices. RealPage is a Texas-based tech company that provides property management software to landlords and property managers.
As a company, Greystar owns around 950,000 rental properties in America, including over 6,000 in Tennessee, according to the state government press release.
“Tennessee renters were stuck paying too much because property management companies shared information through the RealPage software to artificially inflate prices,” said Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti. “It’s not fair, it’s not right, and we are putting a stop to it by holding these companies accountable.”
Under the settlement, Greystar will pay these states $7 million. By agreeing to the settlement, the company denies all liability.
If a judge approves this settlement, starting April 1, 2026, Greystar will need to refrain from using its rent-pricing software that uses an algorithm to create pricing recommendations based on competitors’ sensitive data, or any algorithm that uses anticompetitive features.
On top of this, the company needs to stop sharing sensitive information with its competitors and accept a court-appointed monitor to oversee how it uses its third-party pricing algorithm.
Greystar will also need to stop attending RealPage-hosted meetings with competing landlords.
According to rentdata.org, the average fair-market monthly rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Tennessee increased from $696 in 2020 to $992 in 2025, a 43 percent increase.
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Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network. Email tips to Zachery at zschmidt1717@gmail.com.|
