Being able to afford a home, whether through renting or owning, has long been considered a quintessential part of the “American Dream.” Unfortunately, the current state of the housing market in the United States, often described as a “housing crisis,” has made achieving this dream extremely difficult and sometimes impossible for many families.[1] In North Carolina, this harsh reality is no different. In fact, the North Carolina Housing Coalition estimates that around forty-nine percent of renters and twenty percent of homeowners “have difficulty affording their homes.”[2]
Further, the affordability issue at the forefront of economic policy discussions is especially crucial in North Carolina since around 200,000 families in the state faced eviction in the last year.[3] Although the annual census on homelessness across the country has not yet been published by the federal government for 2025, the number of homeless individuals in North Carolina increased by nineteen percent from 2023 to 2024.[4] Given that mortgage rates remain high and rent prices continue to rise, it seems quite unlikely that homelessness statistics declined significantly from 2024 to 2025.[5] However, North Carolina Attorney General (“AG”) Jeff Jackson’s (Jackson) taking legal action against companies utilizing unfair practices with respect to housing is a good start.
In recent months, Jackson has secured major victories against large companies that have utilized predatory housing and renting practices to exploit North Carolina residents.[6] The first of these victories occurred in 2025.[7] In January 2025, joining the United States Department of Justice and several other states, Jackson brought suit on behalf of North Carolina against six large landlord companies operating over 70,000 rental units across the state.[8] The catalyst of this lawsuit was that the six companies were working with a software company called RealPage to “share non-public information about rent prices, occupancy, strategies for setting rents, and discounts.”[9] Essentially, the companies involved used that non-public sensitive data and artificial intelligence software to engage in rent price-fixing, allowing them to unfairly drive up the cost of rents and, as a result, hurt thousands of renters.[10]
On November 20, 2025, the North Carolina Department of Justice issued a press release announcing that Jackson had, along with the AGs of the other states involved in the suit, reached a settlement for $7 million with the largest landlord in North Carolina, Greystar.[11] As a result of this victory, more than 25,000 North Carolinian renters living in units owned by Greystar will now have access to fairer rent prices.[12] Greystar agreed in the settlement to no longer use non-public, sensitive data from competitors to set its rent prices.[13] That is not all that Jackson did, though. Earlier that month, on November 13, Jackson announced that he and Utah AG Derek Brown were partnering with OpenAI and Microsoft to form an AI Task Force dedicated to three main goals:
- Work with law enforcement, experts, and stakeholders to identify emerging AI issues so attorneys general are equipped to protect the public.
- Develop basic safeguards that AI developers should follow to protect the public and reduce the risk of harm, especially to children.
- Create a standing forum to track developments in AI and coordinate timely responses as new challenges emerge.[14]
With artificial intelligence taking such a prominent role in society and the economy, this move is more than appropriate.
Jackson’s second victory with respect to the housing industry came more recently. The North Carolina Department of Justice issued a release on January 22, 2026, announcing that the Superior Court of North Carolina in Wake County granted summary judgment in favor of North Carolina in a lawsuit against MV Realty.[15] North Carolina sued MV Realty over the company’s Homeowner Benefit Agreements (HBA) which “locked homeowners into exclusive listing contracts for 40 years in exchange for small upfront payments” and “required homeowners to pay MV Realty a commission of 3% to 6% of the home’s value – even if they sold without using MV Realty.”[16] North Carolina also claimed that MV Realty “deceptively claimed through filings with county deed offices to bind future heirs, creating apparent clouds on property titles through their misrepresentations.”[17]
Although North Carolina passed and signed into law the Unfair Real Estate Agreements Act in 2023 to prevent the use of these types of housing agreements post-2023, the legislation did not stop agreements pre-2023.[18] In its ruling, the Superior Court permanently enjoined MV Realty from “filing any notices of lis pendens affecting the properties of any North Carolina homeowners stemming from the HBA program,” meaning that the company may not cloud the title to properties of those homeowners, which would make it difficult to sell or refinance the properties.[19] Additionally, the court permanently enjoined MV Realty from seeking to collect fees and such from the homeowners under the HBA program.[20] This victory shows the state’s harsh rebuke of unfair and predatory practices used by a company in the housing industry.
Both of these victories will have a clear impact on the lives of North Carolinian renters and homeowners. Not only did these lawsuits combat unfair uses of artificial intelligence to drive up rent costs on behalf of renters but they also stood up for homeowners stuck in contracts from which they seemingly had no escape. Fairness and affordability in the housing industry have a direct, tangible impact on citizens across the state, and the nation. Taking on the largest landlord in the state indicates to citizens that the state government is willing to use the law to fight for them.
Prior to his role as AG, Jackson was a congressman in the House of Representatives who had gained national notoriety on social media, particularly TikTok.[21] He became known as the calm, level-headed politician who was willing to cut through the political theatre to deliver direct, logical, and earnest messages to the American public.[22] That same earnest and well-intentioned approach has carried over into his tenure as AG. But now, instead of delivering regular messages to the American public about the behind-the-scenes happenings of Washington, D.C., AG Jackson is delivering a strong message to anyone trying to exploit North Carolinians: “Companies can’t use new technology, like AI, to break the law and hurt customers. If they try, we’ll take them to court.”[23]
Only time will tell how companies in the housing industry will respond to Jackson’s message, but it seems likely that as technology like artificial intelligence continues to develop, some will seek to use it for unfair gain. Lucky for North Carolina, if Jackson’s recent track record is any indication, one thing seems certain: the soft-spoken AG will not shy away from initiating legal action, especially when the American dream and people’s livelihoods are at risk.
[1] Makinizi Hoover & Isabella Lucy, The State of Housing in America, U.S. Chamber of Com. (last updated Feb. 12, 2026), https://www.uschamber.com/economy/the-state-of-housing-in-america.
[2] N.C. Hous. Coal., County Profiles (last visited Feb. 26, 2026), https://nchousing.org/county-fact-sheets/.
[3] Id.
[4] Harbani Kohli & Laura Strickler, Trump administration still hasn’t released data from 2025’s homelessness census, NBC News (Jan. 28, 2026), https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/trump-administration-2025-homelessness-data-hud-census-rcna256322; N.C. Hous. Coal., Homelessness in NC Rises 19%: Annual Homelessness Assessment Report (Jan. 30, 2025), https://nchousing.org/homelessness-in-nc-rises-19-annual-homelessness-assessment-report/.
[5] Kohli & Strickler, supra note 4.
[6] N.C. Dep’t of Just., Attorney General Jeff Jackson Wins Major Victory Against MV Realty for Deceptive Agreements and Illegal Robocalls (Jan. 22, 2026), https://ncdoj.gov/attorney-general-jeff-jackson-wins-major-victory-against-mv-realty-for-deceptive-agreements-and-illegal-robocalls/ [hereinafter N.C. Dep’t of Just., Major Victory Against MV Realty]; N.C. Dep’t of Just., Attorney General Jeff Jackson Reaches $7 Million Settlement with Largest North Carolina Landlord over AI Rent Setting (Nov. 20, 2025), https://ncdoj.gov/attorney-general-jeff-jackson-reaches-7-million-settlement-with-largest-north-carolina-landlord-over-ai-rent-setting/ [hereinafter N.C. Dep’t of Just., $7 Million Settlement].
[7] N.C. Dep’t of Just., $7 Million Settlement, supra note 6.
[8] “The six landlords [were] Greystar Real Estate Partners LLC, Blackstone’s LivCor LLC, Camden Property Trust, Cushman & Wakefield Inc and Pinnacle Property Management Services LLC, Willow Bridge Property Company LLC, and Cortland Management LLC.” N.C. Dep’t of Just., Attorney General Jeff Jackson Sues Six Landlords for Illegally Raising North Carolinians’ Rents (Jan. 7, 2026), https://ncdoj.gov/attorney-general-jeff-jackson-sues-six-landlords-for-illegally-raising-north-carolinians-rents/.
[9] RealPage is a software company that specializes in the use of artificial intelligence to help counsel companies in the real estate industry. RealPage, About Us (last visited Feb 26, 2026), https://www.realpage.com/company/.
[10] N.C. Dep’t of Just., supra note 8.
[11] N.C. Dep’t of Just., $7 Million Settlement, supra note 6.
[12] Id.
[13] Id.
[14] N.C. Dep’t of Just., Attorneys General Jeff Jackson and Derek Brown Launch Nationwide Bipartisan AI Task Force (Nov. 13, 2025), https://ncdoj.gov/attorneys-general-jeff-jackson-and-derek-brown-launch-nationwide-bipartisan-ai-task-force/.
[15] N.C. Dep’t of Just., Major Victory Against MV Realty, supra note 6.
[16] Id.
[17] Id.
[18] Id.
[19] State ex rel. Jackson v. MV Realty PBC, LLC, No. 23CV006408-910 2026 WL 130879 at *49 (N.C. Super. Ct. 2026).
[20] Id.
[21] Eduardo Medina, The Secret to One Swing State Democrat’s Rise? Wonky TikTok Videos, N.Y. Times (Aug. 9, 2025), https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/09/us/north-carolina-attorney-general-jeff-jackson.html?searchResultPosition=2 (discussing Jeff Jackson’s rise to North Carolina AG using social media, particularly TikTok, to talk in a level-headed way directly to citizens and North Carolina voters).
[22] Id.
[23] N.C. Dep’t of Just., $7 Million Settlement, supra note 6.
