WASHINGTON — Despite a lawsuit against 14 of the largest landlords in D.C. for allegedly inflating rent prices, a tenant in Northeast claims her management company continues to exorbitantly increase rent.
Alyssa Franke currently pays $2,242 a month for her unit in The Apollo located on H Street, Northeast Corridor, according to documents issued by her property management Bozzuto Management Company. Under the rates provided to Franke at the beginning of 2024, renewing a 12-month lease would increase her rent to $2,981.
"This is just a case of corporate greed. There is no justification for a 33% rent increase, and they haven't given me one at all," Franke told WUSA9.
The 33% rent increase being offered to the Northeast tenant comes nearly three months after the Attorney General for the District of Columbia Brian Schwalb filed a lawsuit claiming that 14 landlords in D.C. colluded with the software company RealPage to inflate rent prices across the District.
The lawsuit alleges that the defendants - including Bozzuto Management Company - engaged in a price-fixing scheme by using RealPage's software to determine rent prices leaving the price-setting ability to a single entity instead of competing among each other. Schwalb says that the practice artificially inflated rent prices by up to 7% across more than 40,000 units in Washington, D.C.
"They seem to be doubling down that there is nothing wrong with what they are doing. That they are going to keep raising rent on their tenants astronomically. That's very frustrating as a tenant because there isn't much we can do," Franke said about the recent rent increase.
Franke says this is not the first time she has complained to Bozzuto Management about their rent hikes.
In a Dec. 2022, a representative with the property management company wrote to Franke, "We use a 3rd party to generate our renewal rates to eliminate any potential biases, but I can try to open a negotiation with them to see if there's any flexibility with the rate."
Franke says that during that exchange in late 2022 she was trying to negotiate a lower rent increase after she was told she would have to pay $500 more a month. "It was just astronomical. Way beyond anything that I expected," she said.
An email exchange shows Franke attempting to get an explanation for the increase and asking Bozzuto to reconsider the new rate. She says she was met with the same answer every time, "It's not us. It's this third party. We will bring that concern to them," Franke said.
Franke says this year, Bozzuto Management has not told her they are using a third-party company to establish their rent pricing, but the rates offered to her this year have raised some doubts. "Given what they emailed me last year, and the D.C. Attorney General's lawsuit I believe either RealPage or another third-party company is still setting my rent," she said.
WUSA9 reached out to Bozutto Management Company to confirm the use of the software and for comment regarding the allegations, but we did not receive a response. The property management company has also not responded to our inquiries regarding Schwalb's lawsuit.
A spokesperson for Attorney General Schwalb told WUSA9 in a statement:
"Attorney General Schwalb is committed to standing up for tenants and is using every available tool to help ease DC’s affordable housing crisis—our team works every day to make sure that DC residents are safe in their homes and can afford to remain in their communities. We sued RealPage and multiple landlords who use its software to stop them from unfairly coordinating to overcharge DC residents, and we are looking forward to proving our case in court."
Schwalb's office is urging D.C. residents that may encounter issues with businesses including their landlord, to file a complaint with their Office of Consumer Protection.
- Call our hotline: (202) 442-9828
- Send a complaint via email: consumer.protection@dc.gov
- Submit a complaint online: https://oag.dc.gov/consumer-protection/submit-consumer-complaint
Franke says she might be forced to move out of her apartment, but she has decided to share her experience so that other tenants in the District know they are not alone.
RealPage has not responded to our inquiries regarding the D.C. lawsuit and the recent allegations.
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