Bill would strengthen enforcement and lawsuits against companies that allow landlords to collude on rent prices 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), a member of the Senate Finance and Senate Judiciary Committees, today joined Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and U.S. Representative Becca Balint (D-VT-At-Large) in introducing the End Rent Fixing Act, bicameral legislation to crack down on companies that help landlords increase rents in already high-priced markets. These services allow landlords to collude to set prices via software and price-setting algorithms.  

Since the legislation was first introduced in early 2024, the state of New York, Seattle, Philadelphia, and cities across the country have adopted the bill, formerly titled Preventing the Algorithmic Facilitation of Rental Housing Cartels Act, to serve as a successful model for reigning in algorithmic rent fixing in states and localities.    

“Vermonters are amongst the hardest hit by the housing crisis raging across the country. We have the fourth-highest rate of homelessness in the nation. In the midst of this crisis and at a time when families are struggling to put food on the table—thanks to Trump’s reckless economic policies—housing providers are using anticompetitive pricing algorithms to raise rents. It’s outrageous,” said Senator Welch. “The End Rent Fixing Act would crack down on these pricing algorithms and prevent future monopolies on the housing market to protect renters in Vermont and nationwide.” 

“Setting prices with an algorithm is no different from doing it over cigars and whiskey in a private club,” said Senator Wyden. “These cartels are already being sued for violating antitrust laws, but I don’t want there to be a sliver of doubt that fixing rents with an algorithm is illegal. Housing costs are crushing American families. Companies shouldn’t be using AI to make the housing crisis worse.” 

“Families in Vermont and across the country are being crushed by the housing affordability crisis — a result of corporate greed,” said Rep. Balint. “Landlords are colluding to illegally push rent higher and higher. The End Rent Fixing Act will prevent this type of price fixing and protect people’s wallets. Everyone deserves affordable housing. We cannot allow greedy corporations to get away with this.” 

The legislation is cosponsored by Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Cory Booker (D-N.J.). 

“Today in America — at a time when millions of our people spend 50% or 60% of their limited incomes on housing, when nearly 800,000 Americans are homeless, and when there is not a state, city or town in this country where a full-time minimum wage worker can afford the rent — greedy corporations like RealPage are exploiting our housing crisis for profit by illegally colluding to jack up rents,” said Senator Sanders. “That is outrageous and it has got to end. This legislation is an important step toward finally taking on that corporate greed and protecting the American people.” 

“When landlords delegate pricing decisions to algorithms, renters lose out on the benefits of competition and are faced with higher rates, while some homes are priced so high they sit vacant,” said Senator Klobuchar. “This bill will ensure rental property owners abide by antitrust law and let market forces determine rents.” 

“Corporate landlords should not be able to collude to raise rents,” said Senator Smith. “Increasing the price of rent using algorithms makes housing less affordable and worsens the financial struggles for everyday Americans. This bill would end these anti-competitive practices and make accessing affordable housing easier for renters nationwide.” 

“Using AI driven rent-setting tools, big corporations are rigging the rental housing markets in cities across the country – sending prices ever higher and leaving residents with almost no way to find an affordable place to live,” said Senator Van Hollen. “We need to put a stop to this corporate cronyism by ending the price fixing and restoring fair competition in the rental market, a key step toward addressing the housing affordability crisis we’re facing in this country.” 

“This measure cracks down on predatory use of new technology like algorithms to exploit renters with rising prices,” said Senator Blumenthal. “It helps stop high tech collusion that suppresses competition and exacerbates our nation’s housing crisis. Affordable housing depends on consumers having access to fair prices.” 

“Housing costs are out of control in this country and rising rents are crushing people,” said Senator Booker. “This bill cracks down on predatory landlords who use sophisticated pricing software to game the system and drive rents even higher. It’s a simple, straightforward way to stop illegal price-fixing that takes advantage of families who are already struggling to keep a roof over their heads.” 

Reporting has demonstrated that companies like RealPage and Yardi advertise their products as “property management software,” but in fact help landlords coordinate prices to increase rental rates in the same market. The companies collect real-time price and lease information and in return suggest rent increases. The result is less competition and higher rent prices for consumers. 

The Council of Economic Advisors found that rent fixing costs renters at least $3.8 billion.  In cities like Atlanta, Tampa, and Dallas, rent fixing alone raised rents well over $100 a month. RealPage has said that its software “ensures that [landlords] are driving every possible opportunity to increase price even in the most downward trending or unexpected conditions,” and that by using RealPage, landlords can “move in unison versus against each other.” To address this, the End Rent Fixing Act of 2025 would:  

• Make it illegal for rental property owners to contract for the services of a company that coordinates rental housing prices and supply information, and designate such arrangements a per se violation of U.S. antitrust law;  

• Prohibit the practice of coordinating price, supply, and other rental housing information among two or more rental property owners; and 

• Allow individual plaintiffs to invalidate any pre-dispute arbitration agreement or pre-dispute joint action waiver that would prevent their bringing a suit. 

The End Rent Fixing Act of 2025 is endorsed by the American Economic Liberties Project; Center for American Progress; Color Of Change; Consumer Federation of America; National Low Income Housing Coalition; National Alliance to End Homelessness; and the Open Markets Institute. 

“Amid a generational housing crisis, algorithmic rent fixing has allowed corporate landlords to do through software what used to be done in smoke-filled rooms: coordinate prices, suppress supply, and extract billions in extra rent from struggling tenants. The End Rent Fixing Act draws a clear line by reinforcing the per se illegality of cartel pricing schemes, prohibiting covert data exchanges and cut-and-paste pricing strategies that tech platforms have used to rig markets with impunity. Restoring competitive dynamism to struggling housing markets is among the easiest steps lawmakers can take to drive down rents and encourage new housing development today,” said Lee Hepner, Senior Legal Counsel, American Economic Liberties Project.  

“Algorithmic rent-setting has allowed too many corporate landlords to collude in plain sight, driving up housing costs for families across the country. The End Rent Fixing Act will restore competition in the market, stop this digital price-fixing, and ensure renters aren’t forced to pay inflated prices just to keep a roof over their heads,” said Michael Negron, Senior Fellow for Economic Opportunity, Center for American Progress.  

“We are very excited and proud to endorse the End Rent Fixing Act. Wealthy landlords are using rent-fixing algorithms to distort the market and take hard-earned money from renters across the country. Underrepresented communities are demanding policies that prioritize the working class and make housing more affordable for everyday people. It’s time that Congress passes common-sense legislation that restricts algorithms from gouging consumers and gives more resources back to our families and communities,” said Michael Huggins, Deputy Senior Director of Policy & Government Affairs, Color Of Change. 

“Algorithms already secretly mediate so much of people’s lives – their job prospects, insurance rates, loan eligibility, and increasingly their rent. Exploitative companies and landlords are capitalizing on the lack of regulation and transparency and boosting people’s rents beyond market value when people need relief most. This law is a straightforward effort that would draw clear lines prohibiting this collusive behavior hidden behind a proprietary algorithm and help victims hold the conspirators accountable,” said Ben Winters, Director of AI and Privacy, Consumer Federation of America. 

“Algorithmic collusion by landlords is a contributor to pushing housing costs out of reach for too many Americans, especially young people. Collusion against consumers is illegal, whether it takes place in smoke-filled rooms, over the phone, or via algorithm. The End Rent-Fixing Act will give enforcers enhanced powers to protect renters from the use of digital tools to fix rents,” said Brian Callaci, Chief Economist, Open Markets Institute. 

“The main thing making homelessness worse is long-term increases in rents. The End Rent Fixing Act will put free market principles to work as part of a solution to this problem,” said Steve Berg, Chief Policy Officer, National Alliance to End Homelessness. 

Learn more about the End Rent Fixing Act. 

Read and download the full text of the bill. 

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