32BJ SEIU Celebrates NJ Legislature's Passage of FAIR Act to Ban Rent-Setting Algorithms

After months of advocacy, the union celebrates a major victory for working families, thanks bill sponsor Assemblywoman Yvonne Lopez.

NEWARK, N.J. — 32BJ SEIU apploads the New Jersey Legislature's passage of the Forbidding the Algorithmic Inflation of Rent (FAIR) Act, landmark legislation that would prohibit the use of algorithmic rent-setting software that can enable landlords to artificially inflate rents and price families out of their communities.

The legislation now heads to Governor Mikie Sherrill’s desk for signature, who campaigned on a platform of reigning in algorithmic rent-setting software.

For months, 32BJ SEIU members have worked alongside housing advocates, labor partners, and lawmakers to push for the bill's passage. Union members met directly with legislators, participated in advocacy days at the State House, and shared firsthand stories about the growing affordability crisis facing workers across New Jersey.

“Our members clean office buildings, protect commercial properties, maintain airports, and keep New Jersey's economy running every day,” said Ana Maria Hill, Vice President and New Jersey State Director of 32BJ SEIU. “Working families are struggling with the housing affordability crisis, a crisis that is exacerbated by rent-setting algorithms designed to maximize corporate profits instead of keeping housing affordable. The FAIR Act is an important step toward addressing our housing crisis. This legislation sends a clear message that New Jersey will not allow algorithms to make the affordability crisis even worse.”

Across New Jersey, rising housing costs continue to outpace wages, forcing many essential workers to endure longer commutes, financial instability, and difficult choices about where they can afford to live. The growing use of rent-setting algorithms has raised concerns that landlords can use shared market data and pricing recommendations to coordinate rent increases, reducing competition and driving up housing costs.

The FAIR Act would prohibit landlords from using algorithmic systems that recommend or coordinate rental prices based on nonpublic competitor data.

32BJ SEIU thanks the bill's sponsor Assemblywoman Yvonne Lopez and the legislators who supported its passage, as well as the coalition of housing, labor, and community organizations that worked together to advance the legislation.

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With more than 190,000 members across the East Coast, including 15,000 in New Jersey, 32BJ SEIU is the largest property service workers union in the country. The union represents security officers, janitors, airport workers, residential building workers, and other essential workers who keep New Jersey's buildings, airports, and communities running every day.