New law bans software some NJ landlords used to set rent prices
Under the new law, landlords are barred from using that kind of algorithmic pricing software.
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Gov. Mikie Sherrill signed a bill Monday restricting landlords from using a type of software that critics say has been driving up rent prices across New Jersey.
The Forbidding the Algorithmic Inflation of Rent (FAIR) Act targets programs that pool private pricing data from multiple landlords, including lease prices and occupancy rates, and use it to recommend rents. Housing advocates and some lawmakers say the practice functions as a form of coordinated price-setting, since the software often steers recommended rents upward.
Under the new law, landlords are barred from using that kind of algorithmic pricing software.
State Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said her office is already pursuing legal action against companies she accuses of enabling the practice. “When landlords and tech companies conspire to artificially inflate rents, they make it more difficult for hardworking New Jerseyans to find housing they can afford,” Davenport said in a statement.
Sherrill’s office said the law is part of a broader push to address housing costs in the state, including efforts to increase housing production and expand affordable housing.
Algorithmic rent-setting software has drawn scrutiny in other states and at the federal level in recent years, with regulators and researchers examining whether the platforms allow landlords to effectively coordinate pricing without direct communication with each other.
