Housing industry representatives and tenant advocates spoke out Tuesday about a proposal from Montgomery County Councilmember Will Jawando (D-At-large) to ban the use of algorithms that recommend pricing for rental units in the county.
Twenty people voiced their opinions at a public hearing on the Anti-Algorithmic Price Fixing Act at the council office building in Rockville. They included representatives of the Montgomery County Renters Alliance and Housing Justice Montgomery, who were in favor; and representatives of the Greater Capital Area Association of Realtors and the Apartment and Office Building Association of Metropolitan Washington, who were opposed.
Under Jawando’s bill, it would be illegal to collect information from two or more private landlords, public databases or a combination of both for the purpose of calculating and recommending rents for units in Montgomery County.