Overview
- Governor Mikie Sherrill signed the FAIR Act into law Monday, creating statewide limits on how landlords can use rent‑setting software.
- The statute bars the use of specified sensitive inputs — including current rental prices, housing supply levels, occupancy rates, and lease termination dates — to inform automated rent calculations.
- The law also outlaws coordinated or parallel rent increases between landlords and puts investigatory and enforcement authority with the state attorney general rather than individual cities.
- New Jersey’s move builds on the state’s ongoing federal antitrust lawsuit against RealPage and several large landlords while RealPage has sued over a similar New York law and says it will reconfigure software to comply as it contests restrictions.
- Analyses cited by lawmakers say pricing algorithms affected millions of units and raised rents by about $70 a month in impacted buildings, so tenants could see reduced pressure if enforcement holds and courts uphold the new rules, though legal challenges may delay full effect when the law takes effect next summer.