New Jersey Bans Landlords From Using RealPage-Style Rent-Setting Software

New Jersey landlords will be barred from using algorithmic software to set rents under a bill Governor Mikie Sherrill signed on Monday, a move state officials frame as part of a broader effort to slow rising housing costs.

The new law targets the kind of pricing software, most prominently sold by RealPage, that critics say lets competing landlords effectively coordinate rent increases instead of undercutting one another. Sherrill signed it in Newark and did not mince words about what the software does.

What the law does

The measure bars landlords from using software that analyzes competitors' pricing and vacancy data to set rent levels. It also prohibits landlords from sharing the sensitive pricing data that feeds those algorithms, and it bans price-fixing agreements between landlords outright. The bill passed the Legislature on June 30 and takes effect in July 2027.

"Collusion by algorithm"

Sherrill said rents in New Jersey had gotten out of control, and she cast the software as the mechanism turning rivals into partners.

"The problem is that these tools put competing landlords on the same team against renters," Sherrill said before signing the bill. "Landlords can use these algorithms to coordinate prices, move in lockstep, and push rent higher and higher. It's collusion by algorithm, and it's illegal, and it stacks the deck against renters."

She acknowledged the law would not, on its own, fix the state's housing crisis, but said it would curb some of the relentless price hikes straining renters. Sherrill, a Democrat who took office in January, brushed off concerns about legal challenges, saying the bill was written narrowly to avoid unintended consequences for real estate agents and other businesses not engaged in coordinated pricing. State officials, she said, learned from court cases in other states to make the law more resilient.

The RealPage lawsuit still hanging over the market

The signing comes about a year after the New Jersey Attorney General's Office sued RealPage and nearly a dozen of the state's largest landlords, arguing they used the software to inflate rents in violation of antitrust and consumer protection laws. That lawsuit is ongoing, and a RealPage spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the new law.

Tenant advocates cheered the signing. Ana Maria Hill, the New Jersey state director for 32BJ SEIU, the nation's largest union of property service workers, said many of the union's members struggle to keep up with rent increases in the neighborhoods where they work.

"The housing crisis wasn't created by algorithms, but algorithms are contributing to it," Hill said. "Today, we are saying no to them."

Two cities were already ahead of the state

The state is following a path some of its densest cities already took. Hoboken and Jersey City both passed local laws barring landlords from using these programs before the statewide ban arrived. They are also among the most expensive rental markets in the state: RentDataNow tracks a typical rent of about $3,941 in Hoboken and $3,182 in Jersey City, well above the roughly $1,951 national median.

What it means for New Jersey renters

The immediate effect is limited, because the law does not take hold until July 2027 and does not cap rents or roll back current prices. What it does is remove a tool that regulators argue nudged rents upward across whole markets at once. In Newark, where Sherrill signed the bill, RentDataNow tracks a typical rent of about $2,130 a month. To see how prices compare across the state, browse the full New Jersey rent data by city and ZIP code.

Sources

• New Jersey Monitor, "Gov. Sherrill signs bill restricting landlords' use of rent-setting software"

• State of New Jersey, Office of the Governor and Office of the Attorney General

• RentDataNow New Jersey rent data (Zillow Observed Rent Index)