San Diego bans AI-driven rental pricing software
San Diego City Council voted to ban RealPage's algorithmic rent-setting software, joining other cities in restricting what officials characterize as price-fixing technology that uses competitors' private data to inflate rental prices. The ban comes amid a federal antitrust lawsuit against RealPage filed by the Justice Department.
What happened
San Diego City Council voted 8-to-1 on April 15, 2025 to ban the sale, license and use of automated rent-setting software that advises or recommends rental rates or occupancy levels.
The ordinance targeted RealPage's YieldStar software, which deploys algorithms to analyze data gathered from multiple clients to recommend rental prices. According to ProPublica, RealPage actively discourages bargaining with renters and recommends landlords accept lower occupancy rather than charge less than the AI deems optimal.
Reported impact
Council members described the software as 'digital collusion' using private competitive data not publicly available, and characterized it as a 'modern-day price-fixing service that directly and indirectly inflates rent prices, harming millions of Americans.' Councilman Sean Elo-Rivera stated the software 'weaponizes private data, from what should be competing landlords, to figure out just how high they can push prices.'
Index analysis
The US Justice Department filed an antitrust lawsuit against RealPage in August 2024, claiming the software's algorithm allows landlords to view confidential competitor information to align prices, avoid competition and keep rents high.
San Diego joined Berkeley, San Francisco and Minneapolis in banning the software. RealPage has disputed collusion allegations and said less than 40 percent of users accept its recommended prices, arguing that the ordinance is overly broad and vague.
Governance controls
California's proposed Senate Bill 52 would make it unlawful to provide landlords an algorithmic device that advises on rental rates or occupancy levels, pending passage through the legislature.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.