(The Center Square) – The Seattle City Council will vote Tuesday on a bill banning algorithmic rent-setting tools, after critics accused the council of pushing the measure too quickly.
Proposed Council Bill 121000 was originally set to be voted on by the full city council on June 17, but was delayed after public commenters said the process was being rushed.
The legislation, sponsored by departing City Councilmember Cathy Moore, was initially proposed on May 28. It would ban software that analyzes market data to recommend rent levels, occupancy targets, or lease terms–tools often used by corporate landlords.
According to Moore, there has been an increase in corporate landlords using new software that enables anti-competitive collusion and price setting to set higher rent floors in the last few years.
During the city council meeting on June 17, some public commenters voiced their support for the bill, but were concerned about the speed of the process. This includes NAIOP of Washington state Executive Director Danielle Duvall, who said the association agrees with the intent of the legislation in combating anti-competitive rental practices, but added that concerns have been raised about the current state of the bill.
Duvall requested the city council delay the vote on Council Bill 121000 in order to provide time for organizations and short-term rental operators to look at the bill.
“We are concerned about the speed at which this legislation was introduced and passed out of committee – there was no outreach,” Duvall said during the city council meeting on June 17.
Washington Multi-Family Housing Association Government Affairs Director Carter Nelson said the bill would make it more difficult for property managers to compare rents in their own building and across other properties.
“Without engaging with the very people that understand these tools and the problems they are designed to help solve, we are likely to see unintended consequences,” Nelson said. “Taking these marketplace tools offline will actually make housing less transparent and slow down the speed housing providers fill empty units.”
Moore defended her proposed legislation, saying more time will not improve the bill as it currently stands.
“This bill moved quickly because it was thoroughly vetted statewide with the voices we heard today,” Moore said.
She noted that Council Bill 121000 is similar to Senate Bill 5469 that failed to pass the state Legislature this session.
However, fellow City Councilmember Bob Kettle said he does not have faith in the Legislature due to his perceptions on their work to address public safety in the state. This comment did not bode well with Moore.
“I think it’s insulting to say that Olympia always gets it wrong; to me that’s an indication of the continued arrogance of this jurisdiction to think that only Seattle knows how to do it,” Moore said. “We have shown over-and-over-and over that we don’t always get it right.”
