Senate Bill S2697

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   2697
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 22, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. HOYLMAN-SIGAL -- read twice and ordered printed, and
   when printed to be committed to the Committee on Judiciary
 
 AN ACT to amend the real property law, in relation  to  prohibiting  the
   use  of  an algorithmic device by a landlord for the purpose of deter-
   mining the amount of rent to charge a residential tenant

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Legislative declaration. The legislature finds that the use
 of algorithmic devices has been the subject of lawsuits that allege such
 products  pose  a  heightened  risk  of  anticompetitive  conduct, price
 fixing, and collusion, all of which allegedly result in higher rents for
 residential tenants, and allegedly poses the risk  that  landlords  will
 outsource  pricing  decisions,  which  the legislature determines should
 always be made by the landlord.
   Therefore, the legislature declares that, with certain exceptions, the
 use of an algorithmic device by a landlord to set the amount of a  resi-
 dential tenant's rent is prohibited.
   § 2. The real property law is amended by adding a new section 222-a to
 read as follows:
   § 222-A. DETERMINATION OF RENT AMOUNT; USE OF AN ALGORITHMIC DEVICE IN
 SETTING  RENT  AMOUNT PROHIBITED. 1. IN SETTING THE AMOUNT OF RENT TO BE
 CHARGED TO A TENANT FOR THE OCCUPANCY OF A RESIDENTIAL PREMISES, INCLUD-
 ING DETERMINING ANY CHANGE IN THE AMOUNT OF RENT TO BE CHARGED  FOR  THE
 RENEWED  OCCUPANCY  OF  A  RESIDENTIAL  PREMISES,  A  LANDLORD SHALL NOT
 EMPLOY, USE, OR RELY UPON, OR CAUSE ANOTHER PERSON TO  EMPLOY,  USE,  OR
 RELY UPON, AN ALGORITHMIC DEVICE THAT USES, INCORPORATES, OR WAS TRAINED
 WITH NONPUBLIC COMPETITOR DATA.
   2.  A  VIOLATION OF SUBDIVISION ONE OF THIS SECTION IS A DECEPTIVE ACT
 OR PRACTICE AS PROVIDED IN  SECTION  THREE  HUNDRED  FORTY-NINE  OF  THE
 GENERAL BUSINESS LAW, AND A PERSON WHO COMMITS A VIOLATION IS SUBJECT TO
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD06120-01-5
 S. 2697                             2
              

 
 ALL  PENALTIES  AND  REMEDIES  DESCRIBED  IN ARTICLE TWENTY-TWO-A OF THE
 GENERAL BUSINESS LAW.
   3. AS USED IN THIS SECTION:
   A.  "ALGORITHMIC  DEVICE"  MEANS  A DEVICE THAT USES ONE OR MORE ALGO-
 RITHMS TO PERFORM CALCULATIONS OF DATA, INCLUDING DATA CONCERNING  LOCAL
 OR STATEWIDE RENT AMOUNTS BEING CHARGED TO TENANTS BY LANDLORDS, FOR THE
 PURPOSE  OF  ADVISING  A LANDLORD CONCERNING THE AMOUNT OF RENT THAT THE
 LANDLORD MAY CONSIDER CHARGING A TENANT. "ALGORITHMIC DEVICE":
   (I) INCLUDES A PRODUCT THAT INCORPORATES AN ALGORITHMIC DEVICE; AND
   (II) DOES NOT INCLUDE:
   (A) ANY REPORT PUBLISHED PERIODICALLY, BUT  NO  MORE  FREQUENTLY  THAN
 MONTHLY,  BY A TRADE ASSOCIATION THAT RECEIVES RENTER DATA AND PUBLISHES
 IT IN AN AGGREGATED AND ANONYMOUS MANNER; OR
   (B) A PRODUCT USED FOR THE PURPOSE  OF  ESTABLISHING  RENT  OR  INCOME
 LIMITS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROGRAM GUIDELINES OF A
 LOCAL  GOVERNMENT, THE STATE, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, OR OTHER POLITICAL
 SUBDIVISION.
   B. "NONPUBLIC COMPETITOR DATA" MEANS INFORMATION THAT  IS  NOT  WIDELY
 AVAILABLE  OR  EASILY  ACCESSIBLE  TO  THE PUBLIC, INCLUDING INFORMATION
 ABOUT ACTUAL RENT PRICES, OCCUPANCY RATES, LEASE START  AND  END  DATES,
 AND  SIMILAR  DATA, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THE DATA ARE ATTRIBUTABLE TO A
 SPECIFIC COMPETITOR OR ANONYMIZED, AND THAT IS DERIVED FROM OR OTHERWISE
 PROVIDED BY ANOTHER PERSON THAT COMPETES IN THE SAME MARKET AS A PERSON,
 OR A RELATED MARKET.
   C. "RENT" MEANS THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF RENT,  INCLUDING  CONCESSIONS  AND
 FEES,  THAT A RESIDENTIAL TENANT IS REQUIRED TO PAY PURSUANT TO A RENTAL
 AGREEMENT.
   § 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
 have  become  a  law  and shall apply to a landlord's calculation of the
 amount of rent that the landlord charges for the occupancy of a residen-
 tial premises pursuant to any rental agreement that is  executed  on  or
 after the effective date of this act.