26-03-2025
Portland committee advances ordinance that would ban AI rental price-fixing software
PORTLAND, Ore. () — Following a lawsuit against companies that use algorithms to fix rent prices across the U.S., Portland leaders have advanced a measure that would crack down on the act locally.
On Tuesday, the Homelessness & Housing Committee discussed an ordinance that would amend the Affordable Housing Code to ban 'anti-competitive rental practices' — such as those that use artificial intelligence to impact rental costs.
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Federal officials have sounded the alarm on the practice in recent months. In August, the that accused tech company RealPage of using its software to help property managers skew rent prices.
Oregon was one of eight states that joined the original federal lawsuit, in addition to the . The suit was updated to include 'some of the nation's largest landlords' like Cortland Management, Cusman & Wakefield and Greystar Real Estate Partners.
According to the court documents, renters in local submarkets ranging from Central Portland to West Beaverton could have been impacted by RealPage's software. Some of the identified landlords, like , also name several Portland apartment buildings on their list of properties.
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During Tuesday's meeting, New York-based Legal Fellow Angelo Pis-Dudot told committee members that an increase in consolidation and financialization has brought an increase in rent and evictions to the housing market.
He noted that one in six U.S. apartments were owned by the nation's top 50 property managers in 2019, and the number of properties that these companies manage has increased annually for the past 14 years.
'We know that 47% of Portlanders are renters and they deserve to have some representation on this city council and have their needs centered,' Councilor Angelita Morillo, one of the councilors who introduced the amendment, said. 'We also know that the homelessness crisis on our streets is going to continue and get even worse if we don't do some of the changes that we need to do now.'
The Homelessness & Housing Committee voted to refer the ordinance to the entire city council.
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At a state level, Oregon legislators are also attempting to ban rental price-fixing with .
While supporters of the measure argue that it would support tenants who struggle to pay their rent as it rises, opponents have contended that it could hinder development amid the state's housing crisis.
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