Catherine Reagor [2/4/25]
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Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., and other Democratic U.S. senators are calling for an investigation into whether landlords are using RealPage property management services to price gouge military families with higher rents.
Fifteen members of the Senate sent a letter to Department of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth saying, “In addition to harming military families, unsustainable housing prices have negative implications for recruitment and retention of U.S. Armed Forces.”
Increasing housing costs have forced some families to delay moves and choose unsafe housing, according to the senators.
Attorney General Kris Mayes filed a lawsuit in February 2024 alleging several major landlords and the Texas-based RealPage Inc., which works for landlords to collect data on the rental market and set prices, conspired to drive up costs for tenants.
In August, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a similar lawsuit.USA TODAY Shopping: Shop sales in tech, home, fashion, beauty & more curated by our editors.
“Our military families already sacrifice so much to serve our nation, often having to relocate every few years,” said Gallego. “It is vital we ensure RealPage’s algorithm is not used to price gouge military families.”
The letter raises concerns that RealPage is using increases in the government’s Basic Housing Allowance, which helps military families own or rent homes, to “line the pockets of corporate landlords.”
The Department of Defense manages the housing allowance and spent $24 billion on it last year. The federal agency has increased the amount of service members in high-cost housing areas during the past few years.
“Nothing about the Basic Allowance for Housing is ever considered in rent pricing recommendations made by our software,” said Jennifer Bowcock, senior vice president of communications and creative at RealPage. “Indeed, as the senators already know, our software never considers any personal information about residents or applicants.”
She said if asked, RealPage would meet with Hegseth and discuss how their products work and that the company and its “many employees who have served our country care deeply about our military personnel.”
According to a recent Government Accountability Office report on military housing, the negative impacts of high housing prices on servicemembers include taking on debt or commuting long distances for housing.