HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Changes could be coming soon in how landlords set prices for rental properties they own.

That's after the Department of Justice reports the settlement of a lawsuit with a Texas-based company called RealPage.

Federal prosecutors say landlords across the country have been using an algorithm to track confidential rent data and raise rents.

"RealPage probably impacts about 40% of the multifamily market," real estate developer Laolu Davies-Yemitan said. "That's a huge number."

In Houston, 60% of households rent instead of own, according to Rice University's Kinder Institute.

The institute reports that the median rent cost has increased by 9% in just one year.

RealPage's software, according to experts, enabled landlords to share their rental data in real time rath

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