San Diego passes law prohibiting algorithms coordinating rent prices

A for-rent sign on July File photo by Larry Valenzuela CalMatters Catchlight Local The rent is too high in San Diego but corporate landlords collaborating in order to set prices algorithmically sending costs soaring well beyond realm pressures is now a thing of the past The San Diego City Council passed the Prohibition of Anti-Competitive Automated Rent Price-Fixing Ordinance in its final reading on Tuesday which bans the use sale and licensing of tool that enables corporate landlords to coordinate rent prices using nonpublic competitor input Algorithmic price-fixing is an increasingly common practice as of now under review by the U S Department of Justice and multiple states The ordinance aims to stop corporate landlords from using algorithm-driven systems to inflate rents behind closed doors in order to further extract profits from San Diegans Housing is a human right and no one should be pushed out of their society because of a profit-hungry algorithm declared San Diego City Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera who first introduced the ordinance in a message The ordinance which passed the city council on its first reading last month will go in effect in days In the current era s vote sends a clear message San Diego requirements to work for San Diegans not out-of-town tech firms and corporate landlords rigging the system at the expense of working families This is a win for renters for transparency and for everyone in our city who is committed to putting people before profits The ordinance came after investigations revealed that corporate landlords have used program like RealPage s YieldStar to coordinate pricing and suppress competition According to marketing materials from the application companies San Diego renters may be paying up to more per month or more than per year because of algorithmic price-fixing The protocol allows for the continued use of population territory material tools and affordable housing compliance application