“The postponement motion is meant to present the Council time to facilitate a decision of the RealPage litigation and to find out a path ahead for the ordinance with out the time stress imposed by litigation deadlines,” Brown informed KQED in an electronic mail. “Council will probably be debating a variety of potential subsequent steps within the months to return.”
The ordinance, which the council overwhelmingly authorised in March, would bar landlords from utilizing the algorithmic software program offered by corporations like RealPage that provide pricing and occupancy suggestions based mostly on proprietary rental information. Tenants’ advocates argue the instruments permit landlords to collude on pricing choices, driving up rents and emptiness charges.
“These suggestions permit landlords to govern the market and the observe quantities to unlawful price-fixing,” the town’s Housing Advisory Fee, which sponsored the ordinance, wrote in its March report to the council.
“The usage of algorithmic gadgets in setting rents and occupancy ranges contributes to double-digit lease will increase, elevated charges of eviction, and synthetic housing shortage.”
Practically 60% of Berkeley’s residents are renters, over half of whom are thought-about decrease earnings and pay a good portion of their earnings on lease, in accordance with the fee.
“The usage of these algorithmic gadgets is widespread in markets all through the nation and has helped gas the nationwide housing affordability disaster,” the fee wrote.
Berkeley is the primary metropolis to be sued by RealPage over such a prohibition, though related bans have not too long ago been adopted in a rising variety of cities throughout the nation, together with San Francisco, which led the cost final 12 months, adopted by Philadelphia, Minneapolis and San Diego.
RealPage didn’t reply to KQED’s questions in regards to the litigation, and particularly why it sued Berkeley and never different bigger, extra well-resourced cities.
