---
title: HB 679. End Rental Price-Fixing Act; enact
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb679
cite_as: HB 679, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb679
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb679.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb679/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70981
date: 2025-03-03
status: introduced
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-12
license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 129
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb679.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 679
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2025-02-27
last_action: House Second Readers
sponsors:
- Gabriel Sanchez
- Spencer Frye
- Terry Cummings
- Eric Bell
- Rhonda Taylor
- Marvin Lim
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB679/2025
upstream_id: 1987837
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- rent prices
- landlord regulation
- antitrust and price-fixing
- housing costs
- rental algorithms
---
# HB 679. End Rental Price-Fixing Act; enact
## Text
House Bill 679
By: Representatives Sanchez of the 42nd, Frye of the 122nd, Cummings of the 39th, Bell of the
75th, and Taylor of the 92nd
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Chapter 8 of Title 13 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to illegal
and void contracts generally, so as to prohibit certain agreements involving rental
price-fixing as unenforceable contracts in general restraint of trade with respect to residential
rental properties; to provide for a criminal penalty; to provide for statutory construction; to
provide for a short title; 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 "End Rental Price-Fixing Act."
SECTION 2.
The General Assembly finds that there is a housing crisis in Georgia. For many years, the
cost of living in Georgia has been low, providing benefits to existing Georgians and
encouraging future residents to move to Georgia. However, the cost of housing in Georgia
has begun to rise steeply. One factor in this recent increase is coordination among landlords
to fix rental prices. In 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice sued a Georgia landlord over
price-fixing. This coordination not only undermines market competition, but it also threatens
the financial well-being of Georgians. The General Assembly finds, therefore, that this Act
is necessary to protect the general welfare of Georgians.
SECTION 3.
Chapter 8 of Title 13 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to illegal and void
contracts generally, is amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
"13-8-5.
(a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Agreement' means any contract, combination, or other agreement, whether verbal or
written.
(2) 'Coordinator' means an individual who uses or causes to be used a system, software,
or process that performs a coordinating function for one or more landlords that compete
in the same or a similar market, including a landlord that is performing a coordinating
function for the landlord's own benefit.
(3) 'Landlord' means the owner, lessor, or sublessor of a residential property or any
person designated as an agent or representative of the owner, lessor, or sublessor,
including, but not limited to, an agent, a resident manager, or a designated property
manager.
(4) 'Person' means any individual, partnership, association, firm, public or private
corporation, trust, or unincorporated organization. Such term shall include a coordinator
or a landlord.
(5) 'Price-fixing' means any agreement between two or more landlords that compete in
the same or a similar market to raise, lower, change, maintain, or otherwise manipulate
the rental price of two or more residential properties based on a price-fixing function.
(6) 'Price-fixing function' means:
(A) Collecting historical or contemporaneous rental prices, supply levels, or rental
agreement termination and renewal dates of residential properties, including nonpublic
information, from two or more landlords that compete in the same or a similar market;
(B) Analyzing or processing the information described in subparagraph (A) of this
paragraph through the use of a system, software, or process that uses computation,
including, but not limited to, a computational process that uses machine learning or
other artificial intelligence techniques; and
(C) Recommending rental prices, rental agreement renewal terms, or ideal occupancy
levels to a landlord.
(7) 'Rental agreement' means any lease, rental, or other written agreement entered into
by a landlord and a tenant in order for such tenant to lease, sublease, let, or accept a grant
for consideration the right to possess and enjoy the use of a residential property.
(8) 'Rental price' means any consideration a tenant must pay in order to lease, sublease,
let, or accept a grant of the right to possess and enjoy the use of a residential property
either for a fixed time or at the will of the landlord.
(9) 'Residential property' means any building, structure, or portion thereof which is used
or occupied as, or designed or intended for use or occupancy as, a residence.
(b) No person shall enter into or cause to be entered into an agreement involving
price-fixing. Any such agreement shall be deemed an unenforceable contract in general
restraint of trade as provided in Code Section 13-8-2, and any person that enters into or
causes to be entered into such an agreement shall, upon conviction thereof, be guilty of a
felony and be punished by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than five years, or
by a fine of not less than $1,000.00 nor more than $5,000.00, or by both imprisonment and
fine.
(c) No landlord shall set rental prices based on a price-fixing function.
(d) Nothing in this Code section shall be construed to apply to, impair, or otherwise
prohibit actions taken by a person or any federal, state, or local governmental entity, or any
official, employee, or agent thereof, while in the exercise or performance of any power or
duty imposed by a federal or state affordable or low-income housing law, program, or
initiative."
SECTION 4.
This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law
without such approval and shall apply to all agreements related to residential property
entered into on or after such date and to all renewals, modifications, or extensions of such
agreements entered into on or after such date.
SECTION 5.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.
## Summaries written by Georgia Commons
The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary.
A Georgia House bill would make it illegal for landlords to coordinate rental prices through shared software or data, treating such agreements as a felony and voiding the contracts.
### Plain-language summary
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.
### What it does
- 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.
### Who it affects
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.
### Why it matters
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.
### Key provisions
- 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.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2025-02-27)
- Last action: House Second Readers (2025-03-03)
- Sponsors: Gabriel Sanchez, Spencer Frye, Terry Cummings, Eric Bell, Rhonda Taylor, Marvin Lim
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70981
> The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb679.md?full=1