For years I believed that if you care about something deeply enough, your community, your neighbors, and the future your children will inherit, you do not wait for someone else to fix what is broken. You act. That belief guided my work as an elected official and continues to guide me now as I plan to travel town to town with a simple ask of local leaders: pass a resolution urging Trenton to ban algorithmic rent pricing software!

New Jersey families are being squeezed. Communities do the work to create more housing, but rents still climb because rental pricing software manipulates the market in ways residents never see.

Large developers use rental pricing software to collectively increase rents far beyond what markets or families can bear. The New Jersey Attorney General’s report made clear how widespread the practice is and how damaging it has been for residents.

Local officials work for years to approve new housing, navigate public backlash, and make room for new families. It is a betrayal to watch the benefit of that work erased by predatory software. Municipalities do their part and tenants do theirs. Developers must not be allowed to rely on AI driven systems that distort the market, eliminate competition, and undermine the purpose of building more homes. New Jersey must prohibit rental pricing software that manipulates market rates and harms families.

Earlier this month I sent out a formal resolution to every municipality in Union County urging support for a new bill that bans these software systems entirely. If you want a fair housing market, you cannot allow machines to coordinate prices behind the scenes. New Jersey cannot continue to ignore a practice that quietly extracts income from working families.

I am doing this because municipalities cannot solve this alone. “The Resolution Tour” (which I’m calling it) is about building a countywide coalition strong enough that Trenton cannot ignore it. We worked to create housing. We cannot let algorithmic rent manipulation destroy the benefits. This practice hits every resident because rental pricing software triggers an economic ripple that raises costs far beyond the renters it directly targets.

Leadership is not a title. It is a responsibility. When you know NJ families are hurting and you understand how a system quietly drains affordability from entire communities, you do not sit quietly. You organize. You show up. You tell the truth. You push for reform because no community in NJ can thrive when people are being taken advantage of. You do it to look out for others.

In the coming weeks and months I hope to meet with councils, mayors, county officials, and residents throughout Union County. I will be sharing the data, the stories of people who have been harmed, and the resolution itself. I will be asking them to join a shared fight for the people who work hard, raise families, and deserve a fair chance to remain in the towns they love.

New Jersey prides itself on being a place where community matters. Now is the time to prove it by ending a practice that undermines everything our local governments work to build.

The Resolution Tour has begun. I hope every municipality will join us.

Thank you.

Sean Keagan Foley, MSW, LCSW
CEO/Psychotherapist