Lauren Rivera 
It seems as if, for quite some time, Hoboken and Jersey City have been competing with our neighbors across the Hudson to see who can have the highest rent prices, making it harder for lifelong residents and new renters to find affordable housing in the area. But, after an amended ordinance was unanimously adopted at last night’s Jersey City council meeting — now prohibiting landlords from using AI-driven software to set rental prices — Jersey City becomes the first municipality in the Garden State to implement such a ban. Read on for what to know about this ordinance and what it means for Jersey City renters.
The Ordinance
An amended ordinance prohibiting landlords from using AI-driven rent algorithm software to increase apartment prices was passed unanimously, 9-0, at the Jersey City Council meeting on Wednesday, May 21st.
Ordinance 25-057, first proposed by Councilman James Solomon, now makes it illegal for landlords to use software companies that make recommendations based on “historical or contemporaneous prices, price changes, supply levels, occupancy rates, or lease or rental contract termination and renewal dates of residential dwelling units.” This makes Jersey City the first municipality in the Garden State to enact such a law.
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“Companies like RealPage and Yardi Systems have sold a software surface to landlords and property managers under the promise that they can outperform the market by coordinating rent increases,” Anna Maria Hill, the state director for the SEIU 32BJ, the division of the Service Employees International Union that represents building service workers throughout the Northeast and parts of the southeastern coast, stated during the public hearing portion of the council meeting.
“These aren’t just recommendations. These are roadmaps for collective price hikes…It’s no accident that Realpage advertises the ability to raise rents,” Anna said. “This is not innovation. This is exploitation, and it’s exactly what antitrust law was designed to prevent.”
According to a 2024 Regional Plan Association report, rent prices in Jersey City have increased by 50% since 2015. With 36,000 of the city’s 290,000 residents considered rent-burdened, as per the National Low Income Housing Association, the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment is now $3,110, according to Zumper.com. After New York City and San Francisco, Jersey City is the third most expensive city in the U.S.
Kaileen Perec, a lifelong Jersey City resident and security guard for a Secaucus-based computer software company, shared that she is “currently facing significant challenges to meet [her] basic needs” during the meeting. “With a rent algorithm to drive up housing costs in Jersey City, I am increasingly worried about the very real possibility of no longer having a place to call home.”
“Tonight, Jersey City took a stand against illegal collusion from corporate landlords driving displacement and inequality,” Councilmember James Solomon said in a press release sent to The Hoboken Girl. “If you’re a landlord using tech to jack up rents, or a developer benefiting from tax breaks while underpaying workers, we are putting you on notice: Jersey City is on the side of fairness, dignity, and affordability.”
“We’ve sent a message,” he also said. “This city belongs to the people who live and work here—not to landlords gaming the system or developers cutting corners on worker pay. Jersey City is fighting back—and winning.”
The Senior Vice President of Communications + Creative for RealPage, Jennifer Bowcock, shared with The Hoboken Girl: “We are disappointed to hear about Jersey City passing legislation that will ban the use of certain nonpublic data in our revenue management software, as we believe such data can be used in pro-competitive ways that benefit the entire rental housing ecosystem, including renters and housing providers.”
The Lawsuit
The amended ordinance follows a bill proposed in the fall of 2024, calling for a statewide ban on the use of artificial intelligence in the rental housing market, and a lawsuit filed on Wednesday, April 23rd, 2025, against 10 New Jersey landlords and the property management software company RealPage.
The company “allegedly agreed to set rents for multifamily housing properties statewide based on its algorithmic pricing software, and…[exchanged] sensitive, non-public information to align their prices and avoid competition that would otherwise keep rent prices down,” according to an earlier press release from the Attorney General’s Office.
“Along with the Texas-based RealPage, the complaint names Morgan Properties Management Company LLC; AvalonBay Communities, Inc.; Kamson Corp.; LeFrak Estates, L.P. (“LeFrak”) and its subsidiary, Realty Operations Group LLC; Greystar Management Services, LLC (“Greystar”); Aion Management LLC; Cammeby’s Management Co. of New Jersey L.P.; Veris Residential, Inc.(“Veris”); Russo Property Management, LLC; and Bozzuto Management Company (“Bozzuto”) (collectively, “defendant landlords”), who collectively own and manage at least tens of thousands of rental units statewide.” Additional landlords are referenced but not named, and further defendants could be added as the suit proceeds.
“The defendants in this case unlawfully lined their pockets at the expense of New Jersey renters who struggled to pay the increasingly unlivable price levels imposed by this cartel…Today we’re holding them accountable for unlawful conduct that fueled the state’s affordable housing crisis and deprived New Jerseyans of their fundamental right to shelter,” Attorney General Platkin previously said.
With this lawsuit, New Jersey is now the ninth state to take legal action against RealPage. In August 2024, the US Department of Justice joined the Attorneys General of North Carolina, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Minnesota, Oregon, Tennessee, and Washington in suing RealPage.
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