House Bill 1520
By: Representatives Miller of the 62nd, Draper of the 90th, Jackson of the 68th, Campbell of
the 35th, Cummings of the 39th, and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Part 2 of Article 15 of Chapter 1 of Title 10 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, relating to the "Fair Business Practices Act of 1975," so as to prohibit certain
practices by landlords and coordinators involving the use of nonpublic competitor data to
influence rental price and occupancy decisions; to provide for annual certification and record
retention; to provide for enforcement; to provide for a short title; to provide for legislative
findings and intent; to provide for an effective date and applicability; to provide for related
matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
This Act shall be known and may be cited as the "Rental Pricing Integrity Act."
SECTION 2.
The General Assembly finds that fair competition in residential rental markets protects
consumers from artificially inflated housing costs and that the use of nonpublic competitor
data in coordinated pricing systems may undermine independent market competition. It is
the intent of the General Assembly to promote transparency, accountability, and fair
competition in residential rental pricing.
SECTION 3.
Part 2 of Article 15 of Chapter 1 of Title 10 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
relating to the "Fair Business Practices Act of 1975," is amended in subsection (b) of Code
Section 10-1-393, relating to unfair or deceptive practices in consumer transactions unlawful
and examples, by striking "and" at the end of paragraph (36), replacing the period at the end
of paragraph (37) with "; and", and by adding a new paragraph to read as follows:
<ins>"(38) Failure to comply with the provisions of Code Section 10-1-393.22 regarding rent
pricing for residential properties."
</ins> SECTION 4.
Said part is further amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
<ins>"10-1-393.22.
(a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Algorithmic rent-setting tool' means any system, software, data analytics platform,
or computational process that:
(A) Analyzes rental market data; and
(B) Generates rental price or occupancy recommendations for residential property.
(2) 'Coordinator' means any person that sells, licenses, or operates an algorithmic
rent-setting tool to or on behalf of a landlord.
(3) 'Landlord' means the owner, lessor, or sublessor of a residential property or any agent
thereof, including, but not limited to, a property manager.
(4) 'Nonpublic competitor data' means rental market data of a landlord that is not
publicly available.
</ins>
<ins>(5) 'Rental market data' means rental pricing, occupancy, lease term, concession,
renewal, or supply data relating to residential property, or any data derived therefrom.
(6) 'Residential property' means any building, structure, or portion thereof which is used
or intended for use as a dwelling.
(b) Without otherwise limiting the definition of unfair or deceptive acts or practices under
this part, it shall be unlawful for any landlord or coordinator to sell, license, operate, use,
or otherwise rely on an algorithmic rent-setting tool that uses or incorporates nonpublic
competitor data from two or more landlords competing in the same or a similar market to
generate rental price or occupancy recommendations for residential property.
(c) Any landlord or coordinator that uses an algorithmic rent-setting tool shall:
(1) Annually certify to the Attorney General, in such form as the Attorney General may
prescribe, that such tool does not use or incorporate nonpublic competitor data in
violation of subsection (b) of this Code section; and
(2) Retain for a period of not less than five years:
(A) Contracts with rental pricing software vendors;
(B) Documentation describing data inputs used by any algorithmic rent-setting tool;
(C) Records of rental price recommendations generated; and
(D) Records sufficient to demonstrate independent pricing decisions.
(d) Any violation of subsection (b) or (c) of this Code section shall constitute an unfair or
deceptive act or practice in the conduct of consumer transactions under this part; provided,
however, that enforcement against such violations shall only be by public enforcement by
the Attorney General pursuant to this part and shall not be enforceable through a private
right of action under Code Section 10-1-399."
</ins> SECTION 5.
(a) This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming
law without such approval.
(b) This Act shall apply to all rental agreements entered into on or after the effective date
of this Act and to any renewals, modifications, or extensions of such agreements entered into
on or after such date.
SECTION 6.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.