DOJ/HUD Statement of Interest (algorithmic rent)
DOJ + HUD Statement of Interest on Algorithmic Pricing — Cherry v. Yardi / Duffy v. Yardi
DOJ / HUD · Statement of Interest of the United States, McKenna Duffy v. Yardi Systems, Inc., et al., W.D. Wash. (Mar. 2024)
- Status
- Blocked / in litigation
- Took effect
- March 1, 2024
- Applies to
- Landlords and software vendors providing algorithmic pricing tools
The Justice Department's Antitrust Division and the FTC (not HUD) filed a joint Statement of Interest in Duffy v. Yardi Systems (W.D. Wash.), arguing that competing landlords' joint use of Yardi's common pricing algorithm can constitute per-se illegal price fixing under the Sherman Act, even when landlords retain some discretion to deviate from the algorithm's recommendations.
Who is protected: Renters in markets where landlords use common pricing algorithms
Legal detail
Statement of Interest of the United States, filed in Duffy v. Yardi Systems, Inc., No. 2:23-cv-01391 (W.D. Wash., Mar. 1, 2024, ECF 149); the separate RealPage MDL statement was Nov. 2023. Position: Sherman Act § 1 does not require direct competitor exchange of information; algorithmic coordination via shared software using competitors' nonpublic data states a claim. Adopted by multiple district courts subsequently.
Key facts
| Jurisdiction | DOJ / HUD |
|---|---|
| Level | Federal |
| Citation | Statement of Interest of the United States, McKenna Duffy v. Yardi Systems, Inc., et al., W.D. Wash. (Mar. 2024) |
| Topics | housing and credit decisions · automated decision-making |
| Court record | DOJ Statement of Interest on Algorithmic Pricing — DOJ Antitrust |
Related housing and credit decisions rules elsewhere
- Connecticut algorithmic rent ban — HB 8002 (eff. Jan 1, 2026) · In effect
- San Diego algorithmic rent price-fixing ban (Ord. O-21955, May 2025) · In effect
- Minneapolis algorithmic rent ban (Ord. 2025-010, eff. Mar 1, 2026) · In effect
- Seattle algorithmic rent-fixing ban (Ord. 127241 / SMC 7.34, July 2025) · In effect
- NJ Forbidding the Algorithmic Inflation of Rent (FAIR) Act · Enacted (not yet in effect)
- Hoboken Algorithmic Rent-Fixing Ban · In effect
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