Dive Brief:
- UDR has been named in a class-action lawsuit in San Diego over algorithmic rent pricing, filed by former tenant Jacob Keller, according to the July 2 complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.
- In San Diego, it is illegal for a landlord to use software that performs calculations using nonpublic competitor data to advise on rental prices or how many units to rent, per municipal code § 98.1103, which became effective June 21, 2025.
- The complaint alleges that the Highlands Ranch, Colorado-based REIT used an algorithmic device to set rental rates and occupancy levels for residential rental properties in San Diego, in violation of that prohibition. Multifamily Dive reached out to UDR for comment but did not hear back by publication time.
Dive Insight:
San Diego’s algorithmic rent-pricing law states that the use of algorithmic devices “has resulted in inflated rental rates and unfair rent increases and contributed to the City’s unaffordability for families.” The statute cites the Department of Justice’s ongoing 2024 lawsuit against RealPage and a slew of landlords, United States et al. v. RealPage et al., and said that city residents cannot wait for its resolution to get relief from inflated rent prices.
Per the complaint, Keller entered into a lease on a UDR-managed property around May 2025. He alleges that UDR used one or more RealPage algorithmic devices when setting rents or occupancy levels for residential dwelling units in the city, in violation of the San Diego Municipal Code.
Keller and other class members are asking for injunctive relief, damages, civil penalties of up to $1,000 per violation as well as costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees, according to the complaint. They also want a jury trial.
UDR was also named in Washington, D.C.’s lawsuit against RealPage and 14 landlords, filed in November 2023. It accuses the firms of “unlawfully colluding” by collectively adopting the rents set by RealPage’s technology and “unlawfully agreeing to exchange competitively sensitive data in violation of the District of Columbia Antitrust Act.”
The new San Diego case cites findings in D.C.’s antitrust litigation, namely that UDR has admitted that it had used RealPage software.
In June of this year, Avenue5 Residential and Bell Partners agreed to pay a combined $1.4 million and change certain business practices in order to resolve D.C.’s allegations. That case is just one in a string of lawsuits related to algorithmic rent-setting that have arisen in recent years.
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