Landlords Are Using AI to Raise Rents – and Cities Are Starting to Push Back

I&#x27;ll side with RealPage on this one.<p>I think RealPage is right. The issue isn&#x27;t that landlords are using software to help them price homes. The actual issue is the lack of housing. San Francisco banning the use of software to help landlords figure out the market value of their rentals is a bit crazy. Most landlords don&#x27;t use RealPage. Therefore, if RealPage sets the price too high, it&#x27;s the landlord who will lose money by having a vacant apartment. The basic money formula for a rental unit is occupancy * rental price. Both matter.<p>Now, if all the landlords in an entire city or community is using RealPage, then it should be illegal. That&#x27;s a different story.

Non-market housing (called council housing in the UK I think) for at least 30% of the renting demand is probably the best way to keep renting prices sane. If renting prices go down, so will the buying prices.

Collusion isn&#x27;t legal even if you&#x27;re using &quot;AI&quot; to do it. However, it only works in a shortage market. If these cities really want to protect renters, they&#x27;d permit a lot more housing.

I&#x27;d rather have cities make rental contracts public record to bring some parity to the information landscape.