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New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill (D) on Monday signed into law legislation that bars landlords from using rent-setting algorithms.
Under the Forbidding the Algorithmic Inflation of Rent (FAIR) Act, property managers are prohibited from using algorithms that utilize private, sensitive data from competing landlords to decide rental prices or occupancy levels — a practice that often artificially drives up prices for residents.
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“Housing affordability is one of the defining challenges facing New Jersey, and we’re using every tool available to bring costs down,” Sherrill said in a statement. “Landlords, who should be competing to provide the best price to renters, are instead colluding to drive prices up through so called ‘algorithmic pricing.’ That stops now. As we continue our whole-of-government approach to addressing our housing crisis, this legislation is another important step toward making our state more affordable.”
New Jersey joins a small cohort of other states that have passed legislation regulating rent-setting algorithms, including New York and California.
