CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – A Charleston-based property management company is among a group of major landlords being sued by the U.S. Justice Department over a pricing scheme officials allege harmed millions of renters. Greystar Real Estate Partners LLC (Greystar) is one of six companies named in an amended complaint filed Tuesday in North Carolina against software company RealPage Inc. The DOJ sued RealPage in August 2023, accusing it of an illegal scheme that allows landlords to coordinate to hike rental prices. The lawsuit alleged the company is violating antitrust laws through its algorithm that landlords use to get recommended rental prices for millions of apartments across the country. Now, the DOJ alleges that Greystar and other landlords -- Blackstone’s LivCor LLC, Camden Property Trust, Cushman & Wakefield Inc. and Pinnacle Property Management Services LLC, Willow Bridge Property Company LLC, Cortland Management LLC – “actively participated" in the scheme to keep rents high. The companies did this by using RealPage's algorithms to help set rents and sharing “sensitively competitive information” about rental prices, lease terms, and occupancy with each other, officials said. “In one example, Greystar supplied Camden with information not only about very recent renewal rates, but also its approach to pricing for the upcoming quarter, its acceptance of RealPage’s pricing recommendations, use of concessions and competitively sensitive information about occupancy,” a Jan. 7 news release stated. “Likewise, executives at Camden and LivCor communicated over the course of months about their pricing strategies, including plans for certain price increases.” These will be the most competitive housing markets in 2025, Zillow report predicts The six landlords collectively operate more than 1.3 million units in 43 states and the District of Columbia, according to the DOJ. “While Americans across the country struggled to afford housing, the landlords named in today’s lawsuit shared sensitive information about rental prices and used algorithms to coordinate to keep the price of rent high,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Doha Mekki of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division in a statement. “Today’s action against RealPage and six major landlords seeks to end their practice of putting profits over people and make housing more affordable for millions of people across the country.” Greystar’s portfolio includes properties in each of South Carolina’s largest metropolitan areas, however, the state has not joined the lawsuit. In a Jan. 7 statement on the company's website, Greystar denied any involvement in anti-competitive practices. “Greystar has and will conduct its business with the utmost integrity,” the company said. “At no time did Greystar engage in any anti-competitive practices. We will vigorously defend ourselves in this lawsuit.” Recent data shows rent prices in South Carolina have soared by nearly 30% since January 2020, and state lawmakers are looking for ways to ease the financial burden on residents. One bill proposed for the upcoming legislative session would establish the “South Carolina Rent Control Act,” which would require landlords to notify tenants of impending rate increases. It would also prohibit landlords from raising rents within the first year of tenancy if operating on anything other than a week-to-week lease and cap the amount that rent could be raised under certain circumstances. "These companies are just getting way out of hand with these rent increases," the bill's sponsor Wendell Gilliard (D-Charleston) said, adding that regulating apartment leases and rent prices could help alleviate the state's homelessness crisis. "If those things were regulated, we could save a lot of people a lot of hardship," he continued. The pre-filed bill has been referred to the House Labor, Commerce, and Industry Committee. The Associated Press contributed to this report.