Albany, New York – Today, Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal (D/WF-Manhattan), Chair of the Assembly Committee on Housing, announced the passage of her landmark legislation banning landlords from colluding to raise rents through the use of algorithms in New York. The bill passed the Assembly 99-47. When signed into law, New York will be the first state in the nation to pass such a measure. The bill, carried by Senator Hoylman-Sigal, was also passed by the New York State Senate.

“Plain and simple: New Yorkers shouldn’t be saddled with inflated rents because landlords found a new way to skirt the anti-trust law,” said Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal. “Real estate giants are sidestepping the free market, and their tenants, by supplying price fixing software with non-public data to enhance their profits. Our antitrust laws must reflect the world around us – modern day robber barons are no longer striking deals to distort the market in smoke-filled backrooms. Instead, they're training algorithms.”

In 2024, the U.S Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Real Page, a real estate software company, for facilitating a rental price fixing scheme between landlords. Landlords provide Real Page with sensitive non-public rental data, such as leasing information, lease renewal rates, vacancies and potential demand, which is then fed to an algorithm. The algorithm is trained to recommend higher rent prices, often outperforming the market, in order to yield greater revenue for landlords. Under this legislation, no building owner or property manager will be permitted to use algorithmic tools that collect such information, analyze the data and create recommendations for landlords.

According to the Council of Economic Advisors, coordinated rent fixing cost renters $3.8 billion in 2023.Municipalities across the country, such as Jersey City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Berkley and Providence have all passed laws banning this practice.

“Manipulating the market to raise rents during a housing shortage is reprehensible,” said Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal. “We cannot leave any stone unturned when addressing our current crisis – this bill will ensure transparency, restore tenants’ seat at the negotiating table and prevent algorithms from raising the rents. I want to thank Speaker Heastie and my colleagues for voting to make this bill a reality."

Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal said: “Rent prices in New York State are out of control. We need a multifaceted approach to increase affordability for tenants in this state and that includes banning rent fixing algorithms, which landlords and real estate companies have been using to reduce competition and inflate rents.Fortunately, our bill to ban softwares that use these algorithms has now passed through both legislative houses. I’m looking forward to Governor Hochul signing it into law to better protect tenants against these unfair rental practices. Once signed, New York will be the first state in the nation to make explicitly clear that whether it is done in person or through an algorithm, price fixing is illegal and will not be tolerated in New York State.