HB679: HB679 End Rental Price-Fixing Act; enact

This bill responds to concerns that landlords in Georgia have been coordinating rent increases using shared data and pricing software, a practice the U.S. Department of Justice sued a Georgia landlord over in 2024. The bill adds a new section to Georgia's contracts law (O.C.G.A. § 13-8-5) banning agreements among competing landlords to fix rental prices through a 'price-fixing function,' meaning collecting rental data, running it through software or algorithms, and using the results to recommend prices, renewal terms, or occupancy levels. Any such agreement would be void and unenforceable, and anyone who enters into or causes one would be guilty of a felony punishable by one to five years in prison, a fine of $1,000 to $5,000, or both. Landlords also could not set rents based on such a price-fixing function. The law would not affect actions taken under federal or state affordable or low-income housing programs. It would take effect immediately upon the Governor's signature and apply to rental agreements and renewals entered into afterward.

• Creates a new Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 13-8-5) banning agreements between competing landlords to fix, raise, lower, or otherwise manipulate rental prices using shared data and software.
• Makes entering into a rental price-fixing agreement a felony punishable by one to five years in prison, a fine of $1,000 to $5,000, or both.
• Declares any rental price-fixing agreement void and unenforceable as a restraint of trade under existing Georgia contract law (O.C.G.A. § 13-8-2).
• Separately bars landlords from setting rents based on a 'price-fixing function,' even without a direct agreement with a competitor.
• Exempts actions taken under federal or state affordable or low-income housing programs from the new restrictions.
• Applies the new rules to rental agreements, renewals, modifications, or extensions entered into on or after the bill's effective date.

Residential landlords, property managers, and companies that provide rent-setting software or data-coordination services are directly regulated. Tenants renting residential property in Georgia are affected by the pricing practices the bill targets, and the bill exempts government affordable and low-income housing programs from its restrictions.

If enacted, landlords who coordinate pricing through shared algorithms or data could face felony charges and void contracts, which could change how rent-setting software and data-sharing arrangements operate in Georgia's rental market and potentially affect how rents are set in some markets.

• Section 1 names the bill the 'End Rental Price-Fixing Act.'
• Section 2 states legislative findings that rising housing costs and landlord price coordination, including a 2024 DOJ lawsuit against a Georgia landlord, justify the bill.
• Section 3 adds new Code Section 13-8-5, defining terms including 'coordinator,' 'price-fixing,' and 'price-fixing function' covering data collection, algorithmic analysis, and price recommendations.
• Section 3(b) makes price-fixing agreements unenforceable and a felony, with penalties of one to five years imprisonment and/or a $1,000 to $5,000 fine.
• Section 3(c) separately prohibits landlords from setting rents based on a price-fixing function, without requiring proof of an agreement with another landlord.
• Section 3(d) exempts actions taken under federal or state affordable or low-income housing laws or programs.
• Section 4 sets the effective date as the date of the Governor's approval and applies the law to agreements and renewals entered into on or after that date.

1. 2025-03-03House Second Readers (House)
2. 2025-02-28House First Readers (House)
3. 2025-02-27House Hopper (House)

• Gabriel Sanchez (D, HD-042)Primary sponsor
• Spencer Frye (D, HD-122)
• Terry Cummings (D, HD-039)
• Eric Bell (D, HD-075)
• Rhonda Taylor (D, HD-092)
• Marvin Lim (D, HD-098)

• rent prices
• landlord regulation
• antitrust and price-fixing
• housing costs
• rental algorithms