Ban on Algorithmic Rent Pricing Won’t Help Housing Crisis

While Massachusetts renters are struggling with rising housing costs, their representatives are missing the point.

On June 23, 2026, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court struck down a misguided ballot measure that would have repealed the state’s 1994 ban on local rent control, instead imposing a binding statewide cap on rents. Now policymakers are proposing a different ineffective “solution”: regulating the tools used to arrive at housing prices through bans on algorithmic rent pricing.

From Cambridge to Boston, policymakers have bought into false assertions that this technology is facilitating collusion and price-fixing. The technology does not, in fact, enable collusion, as each property management company uses the software independently; the pricing recommendations generated for one company are not visible to or shared with other companies. This was the conclusion of an investigation by the Department of Justice, which produced neither an admission of liability nor monetary penalties for the companies.

Property management companies should be free to use algorithmic technology that crunches market data and suggests appropriate rates for their rental units. And lawmakers should focus instead on the underlying problem: a housing supply shortage.

Massachusetts, however, wants to ban algorithmic rent pricing. First, the Cambridge City Council approved a policy order directing staff to begin the process of prohibiting residential property management companies from contracting with firms that use algorithmic models to recommend prices. Now Boston City Council is turning its attention to an order for a hearing to investigate and potentially ban algorithmic price recommendations in the Boston rental market. Similar legislation in Massachusetts and Vermont is aimed at outlawing this algorithmic software.

The truth? These algorithms help landlords price their inventory by analyzing rent prices for comparable units, factoring in vacancy rates and seasonal demand. Using these tools is simply faster and more accurate than clicking through rental listings and doing math with a pen and paper.

These bans are not only ill-advised, they are also redundant. Existing state and federal antitrust laws, like Massachusetts Chapter 93A, already provide guardrails against collusion and improper data sharing. Banning an entire category of business technology is an unnecessary response when such protections are already in place.

Banning modern tools that property owners use to manage their investments without legitimate evidence that the tools cause harm will make it more difficult to finance and develop new housing. Focusing on these mistaken bans distracts from pursuing the one solution economists agree is essential to address affordability: increasing housing supply.

In the next four years, Massachusetts is estimated to need more than 222,000 additional housing units. As it stands, the market will have difficulty responding to this demand, because harmful restrictions prevent it from doing so. Recent research confirms that zoning restrictions drive up the price of housing while increasing the size of housing units and preventing new development. With supply constrained, rents rise regardless of which technology landlords use to determine prices.

Algorithmic technology, when properly designed and monitored, can have a positive impact. It has been shown in many industries to reduce human bias and improve consistency in decision-making. In housing markets, data-driven pricing tools can help standardize rental pricing on the basis of objective market conditions rather than subjective judgment.

Eliminating access to these tools could have unintended consequences, particularly for smaller housing providers. With less access to reliable market data, these landlords may set rents above market to avoid underpricing their properties, resulting in longer vacancies, slower leasing and a less efficient rental market.

Massachusetts lawmakers should improve market functionality by allowing housing providers the tools they need to create an efficient housing market. If lawmakers are serious about improving affordability in Massachusetts, they should refocus their energy away from banning useful technology and towards addressing the housing supply shortage by eliminating restrictions that hinder the creation of new homes.

It’s time Massachusetts lawmakers took action instead of perpetuating distractions.