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- Mary Salmonsen reports on Philadelphia joining San Francisco in banning rent-setting software to curb rental pricing practices based on nonpublic data.
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Philadelphia has become the second major U.S. city to pass a ban on rent-setting software, also known as revenue management software. The bill passed the City Council on Oct. 24 and is currently awaiting Mayor Cherelle Parker’s signature.
If signed into law, the bill would prohibit the use of rent-setting software and any nonpublic competitor data to recommend or suggest rental prices, fees, terms or occupancy levels in the city, including the use of software to analyze the data. This would not include setting pricing for affordable housing, reports that publish aggregated rent data or market research applications.
Violators of the order could be sued by the city or by current or prospective tenants, and face a fee of up to $2,000 per violation of this ban on rent-setting software, according to the bill. Violations are counted per unit per day. The ordinance is effective immediately once signed.
Original story appears below.
A San Francisco ordinance banning the use of automated rent-setting software that makes use of nonpublic data took effect on Oct. 14. The ban was passed by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors on July 30 and signed by Mayor London Breed on Sept. 13.
The ordinance asserts that the programs allow residential landlords to indirectly coordinate with one another, raising rents, lowering occupancy rates, and increasing evictions. As of Oct. 14, multifamily owners, operators or vendors that sell or use revenue management software, or rent-setting software, in San Francisco could face penalties of up to $1,000 per unit per month.
In response to the law’s passing to ban rent-setting software, Richardson, Texas-based software provider RealPage announced that its customers can receive rent recommendations calculated without nonpublic information. It has eliminated the use of nonpublic data in all products offered in San Francisco and indicated it can do the same for other jurisdictions.
In the aftermath of ProPublica’s 2022 report on revenue management software, and the ensuing lawsuits filed against revenue management software providers RealPage and Yardi, many states and jurisdictions have introduced bills aimed at regulating or forbidding revenue management in rental housing.
Read the full article about the ban on rent-setting software by Mary Salmonsen at Smart Cities Dive.