MAA, JBG Smith Agree to $9.3 Million DC Rent Settlement

JBG Smith and Mid-America Apartments will pay a combined $9.3 million to resolve Washington, D.C. allegations that they helped inflate rents through RealPage’s revenue-management software, adding another corporate cost to the expanding crackdown on algorithmic pricing in housing.

JBG Smith, the Bethesda-based REIT trading under JBGS, will pay $8.1 million. MAA, a Memphis-based apartment owner and operator, will pay $1.2 million. The settlements cover civil penalties, legal fees and money for residents affected by the alleged conduct, according to D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb’s office.

The companies did not admit wrongdoing. Their agreements do, however, impose operating restrictions that reach beyond the settlement checks. Both landlords must stop using revenue-management software that relies on nonpublic or confidential information from other companies. They also cannot encourage other property owners to adopt such systems or share sensitive data with landlords and property managers in ways that could facilitate coordination.

That strikes at the mechanism regulators have focused on. RealPage’s software uses data supplied by landlords to generate rent recommendations for specific markets and unit types. The D.C. attorney general alleged that the arrangement allowed competing landlords to exchange sensitive information and effectively delegate pricing decisions to a centralized platform rather than compete directly for tenants.

The District says more than 30% of apartments in multifamily buildings with at least five units, and roughly 60% of units in buildings with 50 or more apartments, have been priced using RealPage’s software. JBG Smith owns more than 4,500 apartments in D.C., while MAA owns 269 units locally.

The settlements also give the attorney general’s office a compliance lever. If officials suspect either company is violating the agreements, they can appoint an independent monitor at the company’s expense.

The deals extend a case filed in 2023 against RealPage and 14 landlords. W.C. Smith previously settled for more than $1 million, while Avenue5 Residential and Bell Partners agreed to pay $700,000 each in June. The latest agreements push the District’s announced recoveries above $11.7 million, while leaving RealPage and several other defendants still exposed to the litigation.

For apartment investors, the direct payments are manageable relative to the companies’ portfolios. The more durable issue is operational. As settlements accumulate, landlords face tighter limits on the data and software they can use to set rents, potentially changing how revenue management works across the multifamily industry.