Algorithmic rent-pricing litigation expands under new state and local laws
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Re: Algorithmic rent-pricing litigation expands under new state and local laws
#2From https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/monopoly-round-up-time-ba...
> Our work against algorithmic rent-fixing is starting to bear real fruit. Multiple cities have passed laws prohibiting corporate landlords from using rent-fixing software, including San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, Philadelphia, and Providence, RI. These laws aren’t complex and don’t require unwieldy market definition, you just have to show that the defendant is using nonpublic information in an algorithm to set prices. And they are being enforced, with six different lawsuits now pending.
Re: Algorithmic rent-pricing litigation expands under new state and local laws
#3From https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/monopoly-round-up-time-ba... > Our work against algorithmic rent-fixing is starting to bear real fruit. Multiple cities have passed laws prohibiting corporate landlords from using rent-fixing software, including San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, Philadelphia, and Providence, RI. These laws aren’t complex and don’t require unwieldy market definition, you just have to show that…
Can you elaborate on what is meant by “rent-fixing”?
Re: Algorithmic rent-pricing litigation expands under new state and local laws
#4Do car dealerships next...
Re: Algorithmic rent-pricing litigation expands under new state and local laws
#5From https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/monopoly-round-up-time-ba... > Our work against algorithmic rent-fixing is starting to bear real fruit. Multiple cities have passed laws prohibiting corporate landlords from using rent-fixing software, including San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, Philadelphia, and Providence, RI. These laws aren’t complex and don’t require unwieldy market definition, you just have to show that…
Can you elaborate on what is meant by “rent-fixing”?
Like "price fixing". Landlords illegally colluding to artificially inflate the price of housing.
Re: Algorithmic rent-pricing litigation expands under new state and local laws
#6From https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/monopoly-round-up-time-ba... > Our work against algorithmic rent-fixing is starting to bear real fruit. Multiple cities have passed laws prohibiting corporate landlords from using rent-fixing software, including San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, Philadelphia, and Providence, RI. These laws aren’t complex and don’t require unwieldy market definition, you just have to show that…
Can you elaborate on what is meant by “rent-fixing”?
Re: Algorithmic rent-pricing litigation expands under new state and local laws
#7In the People's Republic of Berkeley, our City Council patted themselves on the back in March 2025 when they passed similar laws.
Then they got sued by the company that was targeted, and immediately waffled and canceled the ban.
What's insane about all of this is that we also have Rent Control. There is no greater price fixing mechanism than Rent Control. Rent Control ensures that all landlords must seek the highest possible rent, because they are (potentially) tethered to it for life (of the tenant).
So if you create an economic system where sellers never will allow prices to go down, why bother banning price fixing -- its practically baked into the housing code.
Re: Algorithmic rent-pricing litigation expands under new state and local laws
#8From https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/monopoly-round-up-time-ba... > Our work against algorithmic rent-fixing is starting to bear real fruit. Multiple cities have passed laws prohibiting corporate landlords from using rent-fixing software, including San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, Philadelphia, and Providence, RI. These laws aren’t complex and don’t require unwieldy market definition, you just have to show that…
Will they just stop using an ‘algorithm’ and have a mathematician sit there and state numbers that are of unknown origin?
Re: Algorithmic rent-pricing litigation expands under new state and local laws
#9In the People's Republic of Berkeley, our City Council patted themselves on the back in March 2025 when they passed similar laws. Then they got sued by the company that was targeted, and immediately waffled and canceled the ban. What's insane about all of this is that we also have Rent Control. There is no greater price fixing mechanism than Rent Control. Rent Control ensures that all landlords must seek the highest…
Why would landlords not seek the highest possible rent without rent control?
Re: Algorithmic rent-pricing litigation expands under new state and local laws
#10I’d imagine it’s not so simple, especially without a functional legislative branch, but we could really use a “digital bill of rights” that could provide a comprehensive set of baseline protections and standards for things like this, online privacy, data protection, whatever stops Meta/X/et al from being maximally harmful, etc..