San Francisco Moves to Ban Anti-Competitive Rent Software
San Francisco plans to ban software enabling landlords to collude on rent prices, targeting Yardi and RealPage, to combat automated price-fixing and improve housing affordability amid rising rents.
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San Francisco has moved to ban software that enables landlords to collude on rent prices, specifically targeting companies Yardi and RealPage. The ordinance was unanimously approved by the Board of Supervisors and is set for a final vote on September 3 before implementation. Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin stated that the ban aims to combat automated price-fixing, which he believes has worsened the city's rent crisis and allowed corporate landlords to keep units vacant. Major landlords in San Francisco, including Brookfield Properties and Greystar, are clients of RealPage, which manages a significant portion of the city's multifamily rental units. Antitrust lawyer Lee Hepner highlighted that the widespread use of such software has contributed to rising rents, increased evictions, and artificial housing scarcity. In response, RealPage has claimed that its software benefits both housing providers and residents, attributing housing affordability issues to high demand and limited supply rather than its practices. The proposed ban reflects a local effort to enhance housing affordability and increase the availability of rental units in San Francisco.
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4 commentsIf you weren't going to enforce the existing laws what's the point of making a new one?
This isn't the case of judges deciding say "Boneless wings containing bones" isn't fraud/negligence [1] and so you now need a law to override them.
[1]: https://www.fox5ny.com/news/ohio-supreme-court-rules-boneles...
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San Francisco's Board of Supervisors approved a ban on software facilitating price collusion among landlords, targeting RealPage and Yardi, amid concerns over rising rents and vacancy rates.