Bellingham initiative to ban algorithmic price-fixing moves closer to ballot
The Whatcom County Auditor’s Office will begin verifying signatures Tuesday after receiving the petition pages to get an initiative on the Nov. 3 ballot that, if passed, would prohibit landlords in Bellingham from using software that artificially inflates rent prices.
Community First Whatcom, a group known for proposing local ballot measures aimed at addressing renters and workers rights issues, began gathering signatures for the initiative in April.
The group submitted the petition with approximately 5,692 signatures, Whatcom County Auditor Stacy Henthorn told The Bellingham Herald.
A minimum of 3,167 signatures is required to earn a Certificate of Sufficiency and get the initiative on the ballot. That requirement is outlined in Bellingham city code and represents 10% of the total votes cast in the last Bellingham mayoral race in 2023.
Algorithmic price-fixing occurs when landlords use software designed to give them recommendations on how to price their units.
Using internal data from clients including current prices, occupancy rates and the number of available units, these services have been found to artificially inflate rent across entire market areas by recommending price increases to multiple landlords using the same program.
Initiative 26-01, if passed, would:
- Prohibit the use of paid algorithmic coordinating services to analyze public and private data about the rental market to recommend rental prices, lease renewal terms or occupancy levels to multiple landlords.
- Prohibit two or more landlords from entering into an agreement to establish rental prices.
- Create a private right of action.
- Establish whistleblower and anti-retaliation protections for tenants and employees.
- Authorize civil and criminal penalties.
Algorithmic price-fixing has gained national attention in recent years as software like RealPage gained popularity and rents continue to climb drastically.
The White House Council of Economic Advisors (CEA) released a report in 2024 showing that algorithmic price-fixing, marketed by companies including RealPage, added an average of $70 per month to the cost of rent for units managed by users of these software programs.
In 2023 alone, these algorithms are estimated to have cost American renters more than $3.8 billion. RealPage has faced lawsuits by the Department of Justice and the Washington Attorney General’s Office for its practices.
A growing list of cities, including Seattle, Portland, Minneapolis, San Francisco, Philadelphia and Berkeley, have moved to ban algorithmic rental price-fixing software.
Signature verification for Initiative 26-01 will begin at 8:30 a.m. on June 30 and will continue 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. every day until completion, excluding the July 3 holiday. The process will be open to the public with space to accommodate up to four observers.
