New Jersey FAIR Act: What Bergen County Renters and Landlords Should Know About Rent-Setting Algorithms

New Jersey has enacted the Forbidding the Algorithmic Inflation of Rent Act, commonly called the FAIR Act, to restrict the use of software and data systems that coordinate rental prices, lease terms, or occupancy decisions across property owners.

Governor Mikie Sherrill signed the law on July 20, 2026. According to the Governor’s Office, New Jersey became the fourth state to expressly regulate algorithmic rent-setting practices. 

The law does not prohibit every spreadsheet, property management platform, or rent estimation tool. Its principal focus is software and services that use competitively sensitive information from multiple rental property owners to set or recommend rents, lease terms, or occupancy levels. 

The requirements are statewide and will apply to qualifying rental-property owners and technology providers operating in Bergen County.

The FAIR Act at a glance

The legislation states that it takes effect on the first day of the twelfth month following enactment. Because it was signed on July 20, 2026, the scheduled effective date is July 1, 2027. 

Why was the FAIR Act adopted?

The New Jersey Legislature said algorithmic revenue-management systems can reduce competition when landlords provide nonpublic rental information to a common platform that then recommends prices, lease terms, or occupancy targets.

The legislation identifies concerns that property-management software may be used to coordinate decisions that landlords would otherwise make independently. The law adds more explicit restrictions to New Jersey’s existing antitrust framework. 

The Governor’s Office described the law as part of a broader effort to address housing affordability and starter home access while preventing technology-enabled coordination that may contribute to artificially elevated rents.

What does the FAIR Act prohibit?

The law makes several activities unlawful under the New Jersey Antitrust Act.

Subject to the definitions and exceptions in the final legislation, prohibited conduct includes:

• A rental-property owner paying for or using the services of a prohibited coordinator
• A coordinator facilitating an express or tacit agreement among property owners that restricts rental competition
• Two or more persons engaging in parallel rental-price coordination
• Agents, representatives, or subcontractors participating in parallel pricing coordination
• A person performing a prohibited coordinating function 

The law is concerned with coordinated decision-making, not merely the existence of a computer program.

What is a “coordinator”?

Under the legislation, a coordinator can be a person operating algorithmic revenue-management software or an algorithmic device that performs a coordinating function for a rental-property owner.

A rental-property owner can also potentially act as a coordinator if it performs a coordinating function for its own benefit using information involving other rental-property owners. 

A coordinator is therefore not limited to a well-known software company. The definition may cover a service, platform, data analysis provider, or any other person performing the functions described in the law.

What is a “coordinating function”?

The law’s definition includes activities such as:

1. Collecting competitively sensitive information from two or more rental-property owners and processing it with an algorithm to set or recommend rents, lease terms or occupancy levels
2. Setting rents, material lease terms or occupancy levels using an algorithm that analyses competitively sensitive information belonging to another rental-property owner
3. Recommending rents, lease terms or occupancy levels to multiple rental-property owners using the same or a substantially similar algorithm in a way that facilitates parallel pricing coordination 

This means the law is not limited to software that automatically publishes a final rent.

A tool may still require review if it:

• recommends a rent range;
• recommends renewal increases;
• recommends lease concessions;
• advises when to keep units vacant;
• recommends occupancy targets; or
• uses confidential data from competing owners to influence rental decisions.

The text focuses on the function the system performs and the data it uses, not simply on whether a landlord is technically free to reject the recommendation.

What counts as competitively sensitive information?

The final legislation defines competitively sensitive information as nonpublic information that may include:

• Rental prices
• Available housing supply
• Security deposits
• Ideal occupancy levels
• Lease-expiration dates
• Lease-renewal dates
• Other material lease terms 

The law defines nonpublic information as information that is not available to the public at no cost. It also states that when nonpublic information is combined with public information, the combined dataset is treated as nonpublic. 

What is parallel pricing coordination?

The FAIR Act defines parallel pricing coordination as an express or tacit agreement between two or more rental-property owners to raise, change, maintain, or otherwise manipulate rental pricing for reasonably interchangeable residential units in the residential rent market.

The definition includes agreements involving a coordinator and multiple property owners. 

A written agreement is not necessarily required. The legislation defines a tacit agreement as mutual consent demonstrated without verbal or written communication and states that a pattern of conduct may be relevant.

Whether specific conduct establishes an unlawful agreement will depend on the facts, applicable regulations, and antitrust law.

Does the law ban every rent-setting algorithm?

No.

The law contains important exclusions. A system does not necessarily perform a prohibited coordinating function merely because it uses calculations, automation or publicly available information.

Excluded activities include:

• Research, statistical analysis and testing where the information is not used to set or recommend terms for current or future leases
• Producing a rent estimate made available to the public at no charge
• Using a real-estate brokerage database available to subscribers on equal terms, provided it does not set or recommend rents, material lease terms or occupancy levels and does not collect sensitive information for that purpose
• Government entities setting or limiting prices through lawful affordability controls 

The law also defines an algorithmic device in a way that excludes:

• A non-AI spreadsheet requiring human analysis
• A database that only uses an algorithm to query unprocessed stored data 

These exclusions do not mean every spreadsheet, database, or brokerage platform is automatically compliant. How the tool is used and what information it processes remain important.

Are multiple listing services prohibited?

The law does not appear designed to prohibit an ordinary listing database merely because it displays properties available for lease or residential sale.

A brokerage database is excluded from the coordinating-function definition when:

• it is available to subscribers on equal terms;
• it lists properties for rent or sale;
• it does not set or recommend rents or material lease terms; and
• It does not collect sensitive information to make those recommendations. 

A listing platform that begins using confidential information from competing owners to recommend future rents could require a different legal analysis.

Does the FAIR Act establish rent control?

No.

The FAIR Act does not establish a statewide rent cap or set a maximum amount a landlord can charge.

Instead, it regulates how competing rental owners and technology providers may use data and algorithms when making pricing, lease-term, and occupancy decisions.

Existing municipal rent-control or rent-leveling programs remain separate, as do broader legislative initiatives such as the 21st Century Road to Housing Act in Bergen County. Government affordability controls are expressly recognised within the legislation.

Will the law automatically reduce rents in Bergen County?

No immediate rent reduction is guaranteed.

The law is intended to protect independent competition and prevent prohibited coordination. It does not:

• order landlords to reduce existing rents;
• cancel rent increases;
• rewrite signed leases;
• set one acceptable market rent;
• guarantee that advertised rents will decline; or
• increase the supply of available apartments on its own.

Rental prices will continue to be driven by macro factors detailed in our overview of Bergen County real estate market trends, such as overall housing supply, location, building condition, operating expenses, property taxes, interest rates, and renter demand.

Which Bergen County properties may be affected?

The law applies statewide rather than only to buildings of a particular size or location in Bergen County.

It may be particularly relevant to:

• Large apartment communities
• Multifamily portfolios
• Corporate and institutional landlords
• Property-management companies
• Third-party revenue-management providers
• Owners subscribing to automated rent-recommendation services
• Platforms processing data from multiple competing rental owners

The law defines a rental-property owner as a person who directly or indirectly owns one or more rental residential units. It also treats a controlling owner and the entity holding the rental unit as a single property owner for purposes of the legislation. 

Whether a small landlord’s use of software falls within the law depends on what the software does, what data it uses, and whether it performs a prohibited coordinating function.

What should Bergen County landlords and property managers do?

Landlords and managers should not wait until the scheduled July 2027 effective date to understand their systems.

A reasonable compliance review could include:

1. Listing every platform used to recommend rents, concessions, renewals, or occupancy levels
2. Asking vendors whether the platform receives nonpublic information from other property owners
3. Determining whether multiple owners receive recommendations generated through the same or substantially similar algorithm
4. Reviewing contracts with revenue-management and property-management vendors
5. Identifying what rental, occupancy, deposit and renewal information is shared externally
6. Preserving documentation explaining how rent decisions are made
7. Reviewing whether vendor marketing statements accurately describe the system’s data sources and functions
8. Obtaining New Jersey antitrust advice before continuing to use a potentially covered service

The law may apply based on the system’s underlying function, regardless of how the vendor brands the product.

What should software and data providers review?

Technology providers serving New Jersey rental owners should assess:

• Whether they collect information from multiple owners
• Whether that information is publicly available at no cost
• Whether the platform recommends rents or material lease terms
• Whether it recommends ideal occupancy levels
• Whether competing owners receive recommendations from the same underlying model
• Whether research or statistical data is later reused for active pricing
• Whether client contracts accurately describe data sharing
• Whether New Jersey properties can be separated from prohibited functions

A provider should not assume that calling a product an “analytics,” “benchmarking,” or “revenue optimisation” tool determines whether it falls under the law.

What can Bergen County renters do?

The FAIR Act requires the New Jersey Attorney General to create or maintain an online location where suspected violations can be reported. The law permits the complaint location to be part of an existing New Jersey Antitrust Act complaint system. 

Once implementation information becomes available, a renter concerned about possible algorithmic coordination may want to retain:

• Advertised rent histories
• Renewal notices
• Screenshots showing unusual simultaneous changes
• Communications from property managers
• Lease offers
• Information identifying the management company
• Statements referring to automated or software-generated pricing

A similar price increase at several buildings does not automatically prove a violation. Rental prices may move together for lawful reasons, and determining whether prohibited coordination occurred may require access to information unavailable to tenants.

Can a renter demand to know which algorithm was used?

The FAIR Act requires a complaint mechanism, but the final legislative text reviewed for this article does not establish a general tenant right to demand disclosure of every algorithm, pricing calculation, or vendor contract.

Other laws, regulatory rules, litigation procedures, or future Attorney General guidance may affect what information can be obtained.

Renters should not assume that a landlord’s refusal to identify a software provider independently proves a violation.

What happens when the law takes effect?

The law classifies covered conduct as a violation of the New Jersey Antitrust Act and preserves the existing enforcement provisions applicable to antitrust violations. 

Before the scheduled effective date, the Attorney General may adopt regulations to implement the FAIR Act. The Attorney General must also establish the location for reporting suspected violations. 

Future regulations or enforcement guidance may clarify:

• How complaints will be evaluated
• What evidence landlords and vendors should retain
• How software exclusions will be applied
• How the law treats related ownership entities
• What constitutes use of a substantially similar algorithm
• How remedies under the Antitrust Act will be pursued

What the FAIR Act does and does not do

Frequently Asked Questions

When was the New Jersey FAIR Act signed?

Governor Mikie Sherrill signed the FAIR Act on July 20, 2026. 

When does the FAIR Act take effect?

The legislation provides that it takes effect on the first day of the twelfth month following enactment. Its scheduled effective date is therefore July 1, 2027.

Does the law apply in Bergen County?

Yes. It is a statewide New Jersey law governing pricing practices for residential rental property.

Does the FAIR Act prohibit landlords from using computers to calculate rent?

No. It targets specified coordinating functions that involve algorithms, competitively sensitive information, and multiple rental property owners. Certain spreadsheets, databases, public estimates, research activities, and brokerage databases are excluded. 

Can a landlord independently set rent?

The law targets prohibited coordination. It does not establish a government-set rent for ordinary market-rate properties or prohibit a landlord from independently evaluating its property.

A landlord using information or recommendations from competing owners may face a different analysis.

Does it apply only to large corporate landlords?

The definition of rental-property owner includes a person directly or indirectly owning one or more residential rental units. The applicability of the prohibited conduct depends on the system and data used, not solely on portfolio size. 

Does the law prohibit Zillow-style public rent estimates?

The coordinating-function definition excludes developing an estimated rent amount that is made available to the public at no cost. A particular product’s full functionality would still need to be reviewed before concluding that every service it provides is excluded. 

Does the law lower an existing tenant’s rent?

No. The legislation does not automatically revise existing lease prices.

Where can renters report suspected violations?

The Attorney General must establish or maintain an online complaint location. The implementation page may be created before the law takes effect. 

Sources and References

[1] Office of the New Jersey Governor: FAIR Act Signing Announcement, July 20, 2026

Official announcement confirming that the Governor signed the FAIR Act and explaining the administration’s stated purpose for the law. (NJ.gov)

[2] New Jersey Legislature: A3497 Legislative History

Official history showing the bill’s committee process and passage by both houses of the New Jersey Legislature. (New Jersey Legislature)

Disclaimer

This article is provided for general informational and real-estate research purposes only. It does not constitute legal, antitrust, regulatory, financial, property-management or investment advice.

The FAIR Act was recently enacted and is not scheduled to take effect until July 1, 2027. Regulations, Attorney General guidance, court interpretations and enforcement procedures may clarify or change how its provisions are applied.

Whether a particular landlord, property manager, software provider, database, pricing platform or business practice complies with the law depends on facts that may include:

• The information collected
• Whether the information is publicly available
• The number and relationship of participating property owners
• How the algorithm is trained
• What recommendations the system produces
• Whether the platform sets or recommends material lease terms
• The contractual relationship between the parties
• Applicable exclusions
• Other state and federal antitrust requirements

BergenRealEstate.com does not determine whether any individual landlord, apartment building or technology provider has violated the FAIR Act. Similar rents, simultaneous increases or the use of automated software do not independently prove unlawful coordination.

Renters, landlords, brokers, property managers and software providers should consult qualified New Jersey legal counsel and official guidance from the New Jersey Attorney General before taking action based on this article.