Minneapolis council passes bill to ban algorithmic rental price fixing | FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul
Expand / Collapse search
☰
Winter Storm Watch
from TUE 7:00 PM CDT until THU 1:00 AM CDT, North Itasca County, North St. Louis County, Southern Cook/North Shore County, North Cass County, Carlton/South St. Louis Counties, Crow Wing County, Pine County, Southern Lake/North Shore, Central St. Louis County, South Aitkin County, Northern Cook/Northern Lake Counties, Koochiching County, South Itasca County, Northern Aitkin County, South Cass County, North Clearwater County, North Beltrami County, South Clearwater County, Wadena County, Wilkin County, Norman County, Hubbard County, East Polk County, Mahnomen County, East Becker County, Grant County, West Becker County, East Otter Tail County, West Otter Tail County, South Beltrami County, Clay County, Douglas County
4
Winter Storm Watch
from TUE 1:00 PM CDT until WED 7:00 PM CDT, Isanti County, Meeker County, Sherburne County, Morrison County, Wright County, Stearns County, Todd County, Kanabec County, Benton County, Mille Lacs County
Winter Storm Watch
from TUE 7:00 AM CDT until WED 7:00 PM CDT, Douglas County, Swift County, Pope County, Kandiyohi County, Stevens County
Winter Storm Watch
from TUE 7:00 PM CDT until WED 7:00 PM CDT, Big Stone County, Traverse County

Minneapolis council passes bill to ban algorithmic rental price fixing

By
Published  March 27, 2025 11:54am CDT
Minneapolis City Council
FOX 9

The Brief

    • The Minneapolis City Council voted Thursday to approve an ordinance to ban the use of algorithms for setting rent prices.
    • The vote comes after a major lawsuit brought last year against a company and landlords who officials said used a system to jack up prices for renters.
    • The landlords are accused of sharing private data with a third-party company that used an algorithm to set prices.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - After Twin Cities landlords were among those named in a lawsuit over the use of algorithms to set rent prices, the Minneapolis City Council voted to ban the practice on Thursday.

How landlords used an algorithm to set prices

The backstory:

Back in January, the Department of Justice sued six of the largest landlords in the United States over the use of algorithmic rent price fixing.

The lawsuit claimed the companies shared private data with a third-party company, RealPage, which used an algorithm to set rent prices. RealPage was first sued by the Department of Justice and the landlords were added to the lawsuit in an amended complaint.

Minneapolis landlords named in lawsuit

Local perspective:

The lawsuit named Camden, LivCor, Greystar, Cushman & Wakefield, Willow Bridge and Cortland as defendants. All but Camden operate in Minnesota and the companies make up a "substantial portion" of the rentals available downtown, the Minnesota Attorney General's Office said. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has joined the DOJ lawsuit as a co-plaintiff.

Council approves price-fixing ordinance

What we know:

At a council meeting on Thursday, Minneapolis council members approved an ordinance to ban the use of algorithms in setting rent prices in the City of Minneapolis.

The ordinance was approved by an 11-2 vote.

What's next:

The ordinance now goes to Mayor Jacob Frey's office for approval.

Minneapolis council members are set to discuss the new ordinance at a news conference at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday. You'll be able to watch that news conference in the player above.

Federal rental price-fixing legislation

Federal action:

At the federal level, Senator Amy Klobuchar and a group of Democratic lawmakers introduced a similar bill in February to prevent "algorithmic collusion."

The legislation would also make it illegal for landlords to use these methods to set rent prices at the federal level.

Minneapolis City CouncilMinneapolisHousing