Seattle City Council considers ban on tech that landlords use to allegedly set higher rents

The Seattle City Council today is considering legislation to stop the use of software that allegedly allows for collusion among landlords and drives up rental prices. Washington Attorney General Nick Brown filed a lawsuit in April against property management software company RealPage and nine Seattle-area landlords, accusing them of colluding to inflate rental costs.

• The Seattle measure, Council Bill 121000, would ban tech companies from providing algorithm-driven, rental cost services; prohibit landlords from using these services; and create civil penalties for violations.
• Washington lawmakers failed to pass a similar measure in the most recent legislative session.
• Mike Semko of RealPage testified against the state legislation, saying the technology “is simply market research and analysis with a suggested price.”
• An earlier ProPublica report that found in Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood, 70% of the apartments were handled by 10 property managers who all used RealPage.