If you’ve hunted for apartments recently and felt like all the rents were equally high, you’re not crazy: Many landlords now use a single company’s software — which uses an algorithm based on proprietary lease information — to help set rent prices.
Federal prosecutors say the practice amounts to “an unlawful information-sharing scheme,” and some lawmakers throughout California are moving to curb it. San Diego’s city council president is the latest to do so, proposing a ban that would prevent local apartment owners from using the pricing service, which he maintains is driving up housing costs.
San Diego’s proposed ordinance, which is currently being drafted, comes after San Francisco enacted a first-in-the-nation ban on “the sale or use of algorithmic devices to set rents or manage occupancy levels” for residences in July. San Jose is considering a similar approach.
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