This legislation, known as the End Rent Fixing Act of 2025, aims to prevent the manipulation of rental prices across the United States. It defines a "coordinating function" as collecting historical or current pricing, supply levels, or lease data from two or more rental property owners, analyzing this information using similar formulas or algorithms, and then recommending rental prices or occupancy levels to multiple owners. The bill establishes two primary forms of unlawful conduct: it is illegal for a rental property owner to knowingly subscribe to or exchange value for the services of a coordinator, and it prohibits any person from performing such a coordinating function . Both actions are deemed unlawful methods of competition under the Federal Trade Commission Act and per se violations of the Sherman Act, meaning they are inherently illegal. Enforcement is robust, involving the Federal Trade Commission, the Attorney General, and State Attorneys General, who can seek civil penalties and other relief. Additionally, any person harmed by a violation can bring a civil action to recover threefold the damages sustained, along with litigation costs and attorney fees, with pre-dispute arbitration agreements being invalid at the plaintiff's election.
This legislation, known as the End Rent Fixing Act of 2025, aims to prevent the manipulation of rental prices across the United States. It defines a "coordinating function" as collecting historical or current pricing, supply levels, or lease data from two or more rental property owners, analyzing this information using similar formulas or algorithms, and then recommending rental prices or occupancy levels to multiple owners. The bill establishes two primary forms of unlawful conduct: it is illegal for a rental property owner to knowingly subscribe to or exchange value for the services of a coordinator, and it prohibits any person from performing such a coordinating function . Both actions are deemed unlawful methods of competition under the Federal Trade Commission Act and per se violations of the Sherman Act, meaning they are inherently illegal. Enforcement is robust, involving the Federal Trade Commission, the Attorney General, and State Attorneys General, who can seek civil penalties and other relief. Additionally, any person harmed by a violation can bring a civil action to recover threefold the damages sustained, along with litigation costs and attorney fees, with pre-dispute arbitration agreements being invalid at the plaintiff's election.