San Diego City Council approves law banning technology used in rental price fixing

Yahoo

16-04-2025

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — The San Diego City Council is targeting price fixing with a new law that bans landlords from using AI software to determine rent prices or occupancy levels.
The city initiated action on the measure last October, and on Tuesday, the ordinance, spearheaded by Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera, was approved in an 8 to 1 vote. The law doesn't touch affordable housing programs or tools using public data.
'Some of the biggest corporate landlords in the country are teaming up with big tech to use powerful, secretive software to coordinate rent hikes. Software that weaponizes private data from what should be competing landlords to figure out just how high they can push prices,' Elo-Rivera said.
The law takes aim at companies like RealPage, which is also the subject of a federal investigation.
'If you use Realpage's own advertising that it can help a landlord outperform the market by up to 7%, that would equate to up to an extra $185 every month for a renter in a rental managed with this price fixing software,' said Maya Rosas, the deputy chief of staff to Elo-Rivera.
Heather Ferbert, the San Diego city attorney, said, 'The United States Department of Justice, California Attorney General Rob Bonta, and the attorneys general of eight other states agree this conduct violates both federal antitrust laws and California's unfair competition law, and they filed lawsuits to that effect, but we can't just sit and wait while San Diegans' rents keep rising.'
Supporters argue the ordinance is a protective measure against homelessness.
{sot: mohamed omar –partnership for the advancement of new americans}
'Like so many San Diegans, I felt the pressure of rising rents and fear of being priced out of my own city. It's unacceptable,' said Mohamed Omar from the Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans.
Opponents believe the law will hurt housing development.
Michael Semko, an attorney for RealPage, said, 'Banning software like this that every other industry in the United States that has any scale to it at all to help sellers price widgets will not attract more housing to California.'
Similar fears are echoed by Councilmember Raul Campillo – the only 'no' vote.
'That's just something that I think is going to have too much of a negative effect and that will have a larger impact on rent as a whole throughout our region,' Campillo said.
Following the ordinance's enactment, renters can initiate legal proceedings against landlords for violations, and landlords may face fines of up to $1,000 per offense.
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