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Reps. Becca Balint and Jesús “Chuy” García Introduce Bill to Crack Down on Companies Using Algorithms to Illegally Raise Rents

Washington, November 20, 2025
Tags: Housing
WASHINGTON, DC —  On Wednesday, November 19th, Rep. Becca Balint (VT-AL) and Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García (IL-04) introduced the End Rent Fixing Act to prohibit digital price fixing by landlords.  In the midst of a crisis of housing availability and affordability, landlords are using algorithms to collude and increase rents for American families. Companies like RealPage and Yardi brand themselves as providing property management software, but in reality they facilitate collusion to push higher and higher rents.
 
These companies collect real-time price and lease information from landlords and use it to suggest rent increases, which suppresses price competition in the rental housing market. This is exactly how a price fixing cartel operates, but instead of using code names and secret meetings, this price fixing is offered as a service.
 
“Families in Vermont and across the country are being crushed by the housing affordability crisis — a result of corporate greed,” said Rep. Becca Balint (VT-AL). “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.”
 
“Companies like RealPage and Yardi are building algorithms that jack up rent prices for consumers, making the housing and affordability crisis worse. I’m proud to join my colleague Congresswoman Balint in reintroducing the End Rent Fixing Act as we continue our fight against this new frontier of anticompetitive, anti-consumer behavior,” said Congressman Jesús “Chuy” García. “People should never have to choose between paying rent and buying food.
 
The Council of Economic Advisors found that in 2023, rent fixing cost renters at least $3.8 billion. Increased rents push more people into homelessness, which reached record levels in 2024. Rent fixing does not give renters more amenities or a better deal: it only makes rent more expensive to line the pockets of landlords and companies like RealPage and Yardi. The End Rent Fixing Act will strengthen all these efforts by setting a federal floor of protection against this collusive activity and making lawsuits against rent fixers easier to win. 
 
The End Rent Fixing Act would: 
  • Make it unlawful 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.
  • Allow individual plaintiffs to invalidate any pre-dispute arbitration agreement or pre-dispute joint action waiver that would prevent their bringing a suit.
 
The bill is cosponsored by Representatives Bonamici, Casar, Craig, Deluzio, Gomez, Goodlander, Jayapal, Johnson (GA), Norton, Omar, Ramirez, Salinas, and Tlaib. 
 
“Corporate landlords across the country are pricing families out of their homes. By using algorithms from corporations that get a cut of those profits, these landlords collude and make life unaffordable for working people – who are already paying too much as inflation continues to skyrocket. I’m proud to sponsor the End Rent Fixing Act of 2025 to ensure that renters are protected from this greedy and destructive behavior,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal (WA-07).
 
 "At a time when Minnesotans are struggling to put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads, corporations are colluding with large landlords to price working families out of the housing market," said Rep. Ilhan Omar (MN-05). "I'm proud to support this legislation to crack down on these predatory price-fixing practices and give Minnesotans, and renters across the country, the housing protections they need."
 
U.S. Senators Peter Welch and Ron Wyden are leading the Senate version of the bill. It is cosponsored by Sens. Amy Klobuchar, Cory Booker, Richard Blumenthal, Chris Van Hollen, Tina Smith, Andy Kim, Jean Shaheen, John Fetterman, Bernie Sanders, and Sheldon Whitehouse.
 
“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,” Welch said. “The End Rent Fixing Act of 2025would 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,” Wyden said. “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.”
 
The full bill text is here. 
 
A one-page summary of the bill is here. 
 
The End Rent Fixing Act of 2025 is endorsed by the American Economic Liberties Project, the Center for American Progress, Color of Change, the Consumer Federation of America, the National Low Income Housing Coalition, the National Alliance to End Homelessness, and the Open Markets Institute.
 
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