Senator Pérez's algorithmic rental pricing legislation targets the growing use of automated revenue management systems in California's residential rental market, prohibiting both the deployment and sale of software that uses non-public competitor data to set rental rates or occupancy levels.

The bill establishes a dual prohibition: landlords may not use algorithmic devices to determine rents or occupancy levels, while vendors are barred from selling or licensing such technology to property owners. These restrictions specifically target revenue management software that processes proprietary local or statewide rental data to generate pricing recommendations. The legislation exempts tools that merely publish aggregated rental statistics without making specific recommendations, as well as products used to establish rent limits for affordable housing programs.

Enforcement authority rests with the California Attorney General and local city attorneys or county counsel, who may pursue civil actions resulting in damages, injunctive relief, or penalties up to $1,000 per violation. Individual tenants also receive a private right of action to sue landlords who use prohibited algorithmic tools, with each month of continued use and each affected unit counting as separate violations. The bill mandates courts to award reasonable attorney's fees to prevailing plaintiffs in these actions.

The legislation responds to documented market conditions in California, where 44% of households rent their homes and face median rents 40% above the national average. According to the bill's findings, algorithmic pricing tools have contributed to simultaneous increases in both rents and vacancy rates across multiple jurisdictions, while facilitating greater corporate consolidation of rental property ownership.