During a recent government meeting, Adrian Orozco, the New Jersey political director for 32 BJSCIU, raised significant concerns regarding algorithmic rent setting practices that are allegedly contributing to rent gouging in Jersey City. Representing over 1,000 building service workers, Orozco highlighted the plight of local residents who are facing escalating rents due to collusion among landlords and property technology companies like RealPage and Yardi.

Orozco pointed out that major residential landlords, including Equity Residential, Brookfield, and Kushner Real Estate, are currently embroiled in multiple lawsuits and investigations, including a criminal inquiry by the Department of Justice into RealPage. These landlords are accused of using sophisticated rent-setting algorithms that leverage centralized real-time data to inflate rents by as much as 14.5%.

The allegations suggest that these practices violate antitrust laws by enabling landlords to share proprietary data, effectively coordinating pricing strategies that harm tenants. Orozco noted that the use of such software appears widespread in Jersey City, with data indicating that at least 70 buildings—totaling 20,500 units—are involved in this scheme.

The impact of these practices is particularly severe for long-term residents, many of whom are people of color, who are being pushed out of their homes due to the affordability crisis exacerbated by luxury developments and anti-competitive forces in the housing market. Orozco thanked the council, particularly lead sponsor Solomon, for addressing these critical issues affecting the community.