MAA: 10-K Risk Factor Changes

Our business continues and will continue to demand the use of sophisticated systems, software and technology, including artificial intelligence. These systems, software and technologies must be refined, updated and replaced on a regular basis in order for us to meet our business requirements, our residents’ demands and expectations, and regulatory requirements. If we are unable to do so on a timely basis or at a reasonable cost, or fail to do so, our business could suffer. Also, we may not achieve the benefits that we anticipate from any new system, software or technology, and a failure to do so could result in higher than anticipated costs or could adversely affect our results of operations. 15 15 Compliance or failure to comply with laws and regulations could have an adverse effect on our operations and the values of our properties.We must own, operate, manage, acquire, develop and redevelop our properties in compliance with numerous federal, state and local laws and regulations, some of which may conflict with one another or are subject to limited judicial or regulatory interpretations. These laws and regulations include landlord-tenant laws, employment laws, laws benefitting disabled persons, antitrust and other competition laws, privacy laws, tax laws, environmental laws, zoning laws, building codes and other laws regulating housing or that are generally applicable to our business and operations. Noncompliance with laws and regulations could expose us to liability, such as the imposition of fines by the government or the award of damages to private litigants, and could require us to make significant unanticipated expenditures, such as making modifications to our existing apartment communities or increasing construction costs for development communities. As our industry becomes increasingly regulated, we do not know whether the legal requirements we are subject to will change or whether new requirements will be imposed. For example, privacy laws continue to evolve, with several states passing new data privacy laws that govern the collection, processing, use, security and disclosure of information about state residents, such as the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act. In addition, there are legislative efforts underway at the local, state and federal levels related to tenant screening limitations, affordable housing mandates, increased eviction notice periods, mandatory alternative dispute resolution and access to legal counsel for unrepresented tenants. Likewise, we have seen an increase in governments implementing, considering or being urged by tenant advocacy groups to consider rent control or rent stabilization laws and regulations and other tenants’ rights laws and regulations. New or changed legal requirements implemented in the markets in which we operate could require us to make significant unanticipated expenditures and could also limit our ability to recover increases in operating expenses, impose limitations on our ability to charge market rents or increase rents or charge certain fees, impose limitations on our ability to enforce remedies for the failure to pay rent or otherwise adversely impact our operations. Therefore, any such new or changed legal requirements could have a significant adverse impact on our results of operations and the value of our properties.Legal proceedings that we become involved in from time to time could adversely affect our business.As an owner, operator and developer of multifamily apartment communities, we may become involved in various legal proceedings, including, proceedings related to commercial, development, employment, competition, environmental, securities, shareholder, tenant or tort legal issues, some of which could result in a class action lawsuit. For example, we recently entered into a settlement agreement to settle lawsuits filed by plaintiffs individually and on behalf of a purported class of plaintiffs alleging that RealPage, Inc. and many of the largest owners and operators of apartment communities in the country, including us, conspired to artificially inflate multifamily residential rental prices above competitive levels using RealPage’s revenue management software in violation of state and federal antitrust laws. Similarly, other lawsuits alleging violations of antitrust and other laws have been filed by the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Kentucky against RealPage and a number of large apartment community owners and operators, including us. For more detail on these legal proceedings, see Note 11 to the consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.Legal proceedings, if decided adversely to or settled by us, and not covered by insurance, could result in liability material to our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. Likewise, regardless of outcome, legal proceedings could result in substantial costs and expenses, result in operational changes in our business, affect the availability or cost of some of our insurance coverage and significantly divert the attention of our management. There can be no assurance that we will be able to prevail in, or achieve a favorable settlement of, any pending or future legal proceedings to which we become subject. In addition, other multifamily apartment owners could become involved in legal proceedings, the outcome of which could affect the way we conduct our business. Extreme weather or natural disasters may cause significant damage to our properties.Many of our apartment communities are located in areas that may be subject to extreme weather and natural disasters, such as floods, tornados, hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires and major winter storms, the likelihood or frequency of which events could increase in part based on the impact of climate change. Such events may cause significant damage to our properties, disrupt our operations, and adversely impact our residents and rental revenue. There can be no assurances that such conditions will not have a material adverse effect on our properties, operations or business.We may incur losses that are not covered by our insurance.We have a comprehensive insurance program covering our properties and operations with limits of liability, deductibles and self-insured retentions that we negotiated with our insurance carriers. While we believe the terms and insured limits of these policies are appropriate for our business, there are certain types of losses, generally of a catastrophic nature, such as losses due to environmental matters, extreme weather or natural disasters, that are uninsurable or not economically insurable, or that may be insured subject to limitations, and therefore may be uninsured. We exercise our discretion in determining amounts, coverage limits, deductibles and self-insured retention provisions of our insurance, with a view to maintaining what we believe is appropriate insurance at a reasonable cost and on suitable terms.