DOJ Proposes Tunney Act Decree on Willow Bridge Rental Pricing Data Use
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On July 6, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division filed a proposed Tunney Act–subject consent decree with Willow Bridge Property Company LLC, one of the nation’s largest residential landlords.
DOJ says its claims involve alleged algorithmic rental-pricing coordination: Willow Bridge and other large landlords, DOJ alleges, used competitors’ competitively sensitive information to generate pricing recommendations and discussed pricing strategies and parameters for RealPage’s software.
What DOJ says Willow Bridge would be required to change (if the court approves)
The proposed decree lays out restrictions aimed at cutting off certain data and software practices DOJ claims can undermine independent pricing. In DOJ’s description, the decree would require Willow Bridge to:
- Refrain from using anticompetitive algorithms that generate pricing recommendations using competitors’ competitively sensitive data or that incorporate certain anticompetitive features.
- Refrain from sharing competitively sensitive information with competitors.
- Accept a court-appointed monitor if it uses a third-party pricing algorithm/product that is not certified (or is not otherwise compliant) with the decree’s terms.
- Refrain from attending or participating in RealPage-hosted meetings of competing landlords.
The RealPage meeting reporting rule
While the decree would bar Willow Bridge from attending or participating in “RealPage Meetings,” the Proposed Final Judgment also spells out what happens if it nevertheless does. Under the proposed order, Willow Bridge would have to report the meeting to the United States within 30 days and provide details including the meeting’s date, time, and location; the participants; a description of the content; documents shown; and related materials such as chats, recordings, or documents.
How monitor enforcement would work
DOJ’s proposed decree uses a court-appointed monitor approach to oversee compliance with key conditions. The Proposed Final Judgment explains that:
- The monitor’s role and authority would be designed to check compliance with the decree’s core obligations.
- The monitor would provide yearly reports to DOJ, with the first report due six months after the monitor is appointed.
- If the monitor learns of potential violations, it must promptly disclose them to DOJ.
- If Willow Bridge fails to promptly pay the monitor’s accounted-for costs and expenses, that would be treated as a violation and could trigger sanctions by the court.
What happens next under the Tunney Act
This is not a final court order. DOJ says the proposed settlement and related materials—including a competitive impact statement—will be published in the Federal Register, and the public would have 60 days after publication to submit written comments.
After the comment period ends, DOJ says the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina may enter the final judgment if it finds the settlement is in the public interest—at which point the decree’s restrictions would become enforceable.
Why this matters to housing affordability (even without a “rent cap”)
This proposed settlement is not a direct rent-control or rent-reduction mandate. But it targets a mechanism DOJ alleges can affect rental pricing decisions: the flow and use of competitively sensitive competitor information inside algorithmic pricing and coordination settings.
Tenants, housing observers, and competing landlords using similar pricing technology should watch the Federal Register comment window and the court’s public-interest review—because those steps determine whether these specific restrictions take effect.
Sources
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