New England Realty Associates Limited Partnership (NEN), an operator of apartments and condos primarily in Boston, is one of a dozen property managers accused of illegally colluding to fix residential rent prices in the area.

The suit accuses New England Realty, known as The Hamilton Company, and the other defendants of using the same software— AI Revenue Management made by RealPage— to collect non-public data regarding various factors influencing rents and generating a suggested rental price for each of the units controlled by the defendants.

The suit alleges New England Realty and the other property managers constitute a rental “price-fixing cartel” in violation of federal and state antitrust laws.

The company disputes the allegations. No class has yet been certified. The other named defendants include:

Greystar Real Estate Partners, LLC; Cushman & Wakefield, Inc.; Lincoln Property Company; Peabody Properties, Inc.; New England Realty Associates Limited Partnership; WinnCompanies LLC and WinnResidential Manager Corp., UDR, Inc., SHP Management Corp., The Related Companies, Inc. and Simpson Property Group, LLLP.

Of even greater importance, in our view, is whether the allegations have caught the attention of federal authorities. DuDil has contacted New England Realty asking whether the company has received requests for information, CIDs, subpoenas or other inquiries from law enforcement or government entities related to allegations in the RealPage suit.

The company did not immediately respond.

The case is Billie Jo White v. RealPage, Inc., et al, Case No. 1:22-cv-12134, United States District Court, District of Massachusetts.