APARTMENT ADVOCATE
NATIONAL APARTMENT ASSOCIATION
What ’ s All This Talk About Revenue Management and Antitrust Violations ?
Understanding how antitrust laws could affect the way rental housing professionals set rents for apartment communities given recent scrutiny of revenue management tools .
Antitrust laws regulate the way companies operate their businesses , specifically mergers and acquisitions that could result in a monopoly or potentially unfair business practices . These laws safeguard fair trade and competitive pricing for consumers and could result in challenges to the ways that industry professionals set rents for apartment communities .
This update to payment standards comes at a critical time when pandemic recovery , inflationary pressures and the massive housing shortage have forced average rents up across the country . For example , FMRs in Phoenix will increase by 33 percent in response to significant demand .
A New Focus : Antitrust Complaints in Multifamily Housing Industry
Beginning in the 1980s , the airline industry was the subject of antitrust enforcement actions by the DOJ after companies were found to have entered into price-fixing agreements . Now , Big Tech companies have been the primary focus of antitrust enforcement . Given that virtually every industry relies on these companies ’ technological advances , it is no surprise that their customers , like multifamily owners and management firms , are now a target .
One prominent software provider for the rental housing industry was the target of an investigative report that takes issue with the industry ' s use of revenue management tools . The report alleges that this company with outsized market share www . aamdhq . org JANUARY 2023 TRENDS | 41