Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb today announced that Avenue5 Residential, LLC (Avenue5) and Bell Partners, Inc. (Bell Partners) will pay a total of $1.4 million and change their business practices as part of separate settlements that resolve allegations that the companies conspired with other landlords, using pricing software from RealPage, Inc., to inflate rents at over 50,000 apartment units throughout the District. In the District, Avenue5 owns 667 units and Bell Partners, at the time the lawsuit was filed, owned more than 1,300 units.

“Rent in the District is already unaffordable for too many DC residents, and with help from RealPage, these landlords illegally pushed rents even higher. Avenue5 and Bell Partners deserve credit for being among the first to come to the table and reform their anticompetitive rent-setting practices. We will continue working to hold RealPage and all the remaining defendant landlords accountable to ensure that DC’s housing market is fair, competitive, and free of illegal collusion.” – AG Schwalb