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Will AI decide your rent?

Henry JoHenry Jo··
Will AI decide your rent?

For a lot of renters, a computer already has a say in what they pay. Rent-pricing software, sold mainly by RealPage, recommends rents for new leases and renewals, and nearly 1 in 4 apartments in multifamily buildings used a RealPage pricing algorithm, the White House Council of Economic Advisers estimated in December 2024. A 2026 report by the Virginia Housing Commission, drawing on research by economists Sophie Calder-Wang and Gi Heung Kim, puts RealPage's main products at about 22% of multifamily rentals.

These tools take in occupancy rates, market trends, and prices of comparable units, and they use machine learning to suggest a rent, according to the Government Accountability Office. The legal trouble came from where some of that data came from. In its 2024 lawsuit, the Justice Department said competing landlords shared nonpublic information about their rents and lease terms with RealPage to train and run its software, and that RealPage pushed landlords to follow its recommendations, including through an "auto accept" feature. RealPage controlled about 80% of the market for this kind of software, the department said.

RealPage settled with the Justice Department in November 2025 without paying a fine or admitting wrongdoing, and a federal judge entered the final judgment in May 2026. Under it, RealPage's software can no longer use competitors' current nonpublic data to set prices. It can train its models only on nonpublic data at least 12 months old, can't model local market effects at any level smaller than a state, and has to work under a court-appointed monitor. Several large landlords, including Greystar, Cortland, and LivCor, reached their own settlements, and states' claims against RealPage are still in court.

Whether the software raised rents is still debated. The Council of Economic Advisers estimated it added about $70 a month, or 4% of rent, for affected renters, about $3.8 billion in 2023, while calling its estimate a likely lower bound built on limited data. Calder-Wang and Kim's research found that buildings using the software raised rents more in booms and cut them more in busts than nearby buildings that didn't, and that markets where more landlords used it had higher rents. The Virginia commission that reviewed the research in 2026 concluded it could not confidently say the products directly raise rents.

That finding about recoveries matters right now. Typical US rent was $1,948 a month in August 2026, up 2.6% from a year earlier, according to RentDataNow data built on the Zillow Observed Rent Index, and that annual pace has picked up from a low of 1.7% in March. If that pattern holds, software-priced apartments would tend to rise faster than others as the market firms up.

Governments have started drawing lines. California and Connecticut laws restricting rent-pricing algorithms took effect January 1, 2026. New York's ban took effect in December 2025, but a federal judge blocked enforcement on September 29, 2026, in a free speech challenge from RealPage. New Jersey's law takes effect July 1, 2027, and Colorado's governor vetoed a ban in 2025. Among cities, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Providence, San Diego, Jersey City, Hoboken, Seattle, Berkeley, Portland, Oregon, and Minneapolis have bans in effect, according to a tally by the law firm Morgan Lewis, and Rockville, Maryland's takes effect in 2027. Our look at San Francisco two years after its ban found rent rising sharply anyway, and we cover the limits of these laws in do rent freezes, caps, and algorithm bans lower rent.

The next wave goes beyond a suggested price. RealPage has marketed what it calls AI-driven recommendations for new and renewal leases, and in 2025 it announced AI agents built with OpenAI to handle tasks like move-ins and renewals. A leasing agent in Hoboken told NBC New York in 2025, "The rent is set by that software." We haven't seen independent reporting that generative AI is negotiating rents on its own yet, but the tools are moving in that direction.

For renters, a few things still help. Ask the leasing office whether your rent comes from pricing software, and compare the offer against typical rent for your city and zip code before you sign. A recommended price is a starting point, not a law, so negotiating a renewal can still work. And if you rented in a building that used RealPage software between October 2018 and November 2025, you may be able to claim part of a $359.9 million settlement with landlords, which we explain in who qualifies and how to claim.

Sources

Frequently Asked Questions

Do landlords use AI to set rent?

Many do. Software from RealPage and others uses machine learning to recommend rents for new leases and renewals. The Council of Economic Advisers estimated that nearly 1 in 4 multifamily apartments used a RealPage pricing algorithm.

Does rent-pricing software raise rents?

Research is mixed. White House economists estimated it added about $70 a month for affected renters in 2023, while other research found software-priced buildings raise rents more in booms and cut them more in busts.

Where is algorithmic rent pricing banned?

California and Connecticut restrictions took effect January 1, 2026, and New Jersey's starts July 1, 2027. New York's ban is blocked in court. Cities with bans include San Francisco, Philadelphia, Seattle, Minneapolis, Jersey City, and San Diego.

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Henry Jo
Written by
Henry Jo
Housing Analyst

Henry Jo is a housing analyst covering rent data, affordability, city comparisons, and much more. He started following rental data while apartment hunting in two cities at once, and he lives in the Pacific Northwest.

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Will AI decide your rent? | RentDataNow