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Senate
File
2106
-
Introduced
SENATE
FILE
2106
BY
STAED
,
DONAHUE
,
PETERSEN
,
BENNETT
,
and
WAHLS
A
BILL
FOR
An
Act
relating
to
residential
rental
property
price
fixing,
1
and
providing
civil
penalties.
2
BE
IT
ENACTED
BY
THE
GENERAL
ASSEMBLY
OF
THE
STATE
OF
IOWA:
3
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Section
1.
NEW
SECTION
.
562C.1
Short
title.
1
This
chapter
shall
be
known
and
may
be
cited
as
the
“Iowa
2
Residential
Rent
Fairness
and
Anticollusion
Act”
.
3
Sec.
2.
NEW
SECTION
.
562C.2
Definitions.
4
As
used
in
this
chapter,
unless
the
context
otherwise
5
requires:
6
1.
“Algorithmic
rent-setting
system”
means
software,
machine
7
learning,
artificial
intelligence,
or
any
other
automated
tool
8
used
by
a
landlord
to
set,
recommend,
or
adjust
rent
levels
9
or
occupancy
levels
for
residential
rental
property,
based
10
in
whole
or
in
part
on
nonpublic
competitor
data,
without
11
independent
individualized
human
review
or
decision
making.
12
2.
“Landlord”
means
any
person
that
owns,
leases,
13
subleases,
or
otherwise
controls
five
or
more
residential
14
rental
properties
in
the
state,
or
that
manages
or
operates
15
residential
rental
properties
on
behalf
of
the
person.
16
3.
“Nonpublic
competitor
data”
means
data
regarding
rent
17
levels,
lease
terms,
occupancy
rates,
or
other
proprietary
18
information
of
other
landlords
or
rental
properties
that
is
not
19
publicly
disclosed
or
available.
20
4.
“Price
fixing”
means
any
agreement,
arrangement,
or
21
understanding
among
two
or
more
landlords
or
agents
of
the
22
landlords
that
does
any
of
the
following:
23
a.
Fixes,
stabilizes,
raises,
or
maintains
the
level
of
rent
24
charged
for
residential
rental
property.
25
b.
Limits
or
restricts
competition
by
controlling
rent
26
setting
or
terms
of
tenancy.
27
c.
Uses
shared
nonpublic
competitor
data,
algorithmic
tools,
28
or
software
to
coordinate
rent
levels
or
occupancy
terms
across
29
multiple
landlords.
30
5.
“Provider
of
an
algorithmic
rent-setting
system”
means
31
a
person
who
designs,
develops,
markets,
sells,
licenses,
or
32
operates
an
algorithmic
rent-setting
system.
33
6.
“Rent”
means
all
payments
or
charges,
however
designated,
34
that
a
landlord
demands
or
receives
from
a
tenant
in
return
for
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occupancy
of
a
residential
rental
property,
including
any
fees,
1
parking,
utilities,
or
other
services
tied
to
the
tenancy.
2
7.
“Residential
rental
property”
means
a
parcel
of
land
or
a
3
building
or
portion
thereof
occupied
or
intended
for
occupancy
4
as
a
home,
mobile
home,
residence,
or
sleeping
place
by
a
5
person,
and
offered
or
used
for
rent
in
the
state.
6
8.
“Tenant”
means
the
same
as
defined
in
section
562A.6
or
7
562B.7.
8
Sec.
3.
NEW
SECTION
.
562C.3
Price
fixing
——
prohibited
9
acts.
10
1.
Any
landlord,
or
any
person
acting
on
behalf
of
a
11
landlord,
shall
not
enter
into
or
engage
in
any
price
fixing
12
with
another
landlord
regarding
rent
for
residential
rental
13
property.
14
2.
A
landlord
shall
not
use
an
algorithmic
rent-setting
15
system
that
relies
on
nonpublic
competitor
data
or
coordinates
16
pricing
with
other
landlords
to
set
or
adjust
rent
or
occupancy
17
levels
for
residential
rental
property.
18
3.
A
provider
of
an
algorithmic
rent-setting
system
shall
19
not
do
any
of
the
following:
20
a.
Provide
an
algorithmic
rent-setting
system
that
uses
or
21
incorporates
nonpublic
competitor
data
in
a
manner
that
fixes,
22
stabilizes,
raises,
or
maintains
the
level
of
rent
or
occupancy
23
for
residential
property.
24
b.
Provide
an
algorithmic
rent-setting
system
that
the
25
provider
of
an
algorithmic
rent-setting
system
knew
or
26
reasonably
should
have
known
would
be
used
for
price
fixing.
27
c.
Enter
into
any
agreement
with
two
or
more
landlords
28
to
limit
or
restrain
competition
in
setting
rent
or
terms
of
29
tenancy
using
the
algorithmic
rent-setting
system.
30
Sec.
4.
NEW
SECTION
.
562C.4
Enforcement.
31
1.
The
attorney
general,
or
any
county
attorney
or
city
32
attorney
in
this
state
may
bring
a
civil
action
for
a
violation
33
of
this
chapter.
Upon
finding
that
a
landlord
or
a
provider
34
of
an
algorithmic
rent-setting
system
violated
this
chapter,
a
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court
may
order
any
of
the
following:
1
a.
Civil
penalties
of
up
to
five
thousand
dollars
per
rental
2
unit
per
month
for
each
month
a
violation
continues,
or
such
3
higher
amount
as
determined
by
rulemaking,
to
be
deposited
into
4
the
general
fund
of
the
state.
5
b.
Injunctive
relief
as
necessary
to
enforce
compliance
with
6
this
chapter.
7
c.
Restitution
to
aggrieved
tenants
who
paid
rent
in
excess
8
of
what
would
have
been
charged
in
a
competitive
market
absent
9
the
violation.
10
d.
Reasonable
attorney
fees
and
costs
to
the
attorney
11
general,
county
attorney,
or
city
attorney,
as
applicable.
12
2.
A
tenant
harmed
by
a
violation
of
this
chapter
may
bring
13
a
civil
action,
and
upon
finding
that
a
landlord
or
a
provider
14
of
an
algorithmic
rent-setting
system
violated
this
chapter,
a
15
court
may
order
the
following:
16
a.
Injunctive
relief
as
necessary
to
enforce
compliance
with
17
this
chapter.
18
b.
Damages.
19
c.
Reasonable
attorney
fees.
20
3.
An
action
brought
under
this
section
may
be
commenced
21
within
two
years
of
a
violation,
and
not
afterward.
22
Sec.
5.
NEW
SECTION
.
56C.5
Affirmative
defenses.
23
1.
It
is
an
affirmative
defense
to
any
claim
or
action
24
alleging
that
a
landlord
or
a
provider
of
an
algorithmic
25
rent-setting
system
violated
this
chapter,
if
all
of
the
26
following
apply:
27
a.
The
landlord
or
provider
of
an
algorithmic
rent-setting
28
system
set
the
rent
independently
and
without
knowledge
of
any
29
agreement,
coordination,
or
shared
nonpublic
competitor
data
30
with
other
landlords.
31
b.
The
landlord
or
provider
of
an
algorithmic
rent-setting
32
system
did
not
rely
on
an
algorithmic
rent-setting
system
that
33
uses
nonpublic
competitor
data
to
coordinate
pricing.
34
c.
The
landlord
or
provider
of
an
algorithmic
rent-setting
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system
conducted
due
diligence
to
ensure
that
any
algorithmic
1
rent-setting
system
used
was
not
designed
or
intended
to
2
facilitate
coordination
among
landlords.
3
2.
The
burden
of
proof
for
the
affirmative
defense
lies
with
4
the
landlord
or
the
provider
of
an
algorithmic
rent-setting
5
system.
6
Sec.
6.
NEW
SECTION
.
562C.6
Landlords
——
algorithmic
7
rent-setting
system
providers
——
recordkeeping.
8
A
landlord
or
a
provider
of
an
algorithmic
rent-setting
9
system
shall
retain
for
five
years
records
concerning
the
use
10
of
rent-setting
algorithms,
data
sources,
decisions,
and
human
11
oversight
of
algorithmic
rent-setting
systems.
12
Sec.
7.
NEW
SECTION
.
562C.7
Rules.
13
The
attorney
general
may
adopt
rules
pursuant
to
chapter
14
17A
to
administer
this
chapter,
including
standards
for
15
algorithmic
rent-setting
systems,
recordkeeping
requirements,
16
affirmative
defense
compliance
practices,
and
the
form
and
17
content
of
notices
to
tenants
when
rent
adjustments
are
based
18
on
an
algorithmic
rent-setting
system,
that
include
a
summary
19
statement
of
the
landlord’s
use
of
such
system
and
the
tenant’s
20
rights
under
this
chapter.
21
EXPLANATION
22
The
inclusion
of
this
explanation
does
not
constitute
agreement
with
23
the
explanation’s
substance
by
the
members
of
the
general
assembly.
24
This
bill
relates
to
residential
rental
properties
price
25
fixing.
26
The
bill
defines
a
“landlord”
as
any
person
that
owns,
27
leases,
subleases,
or
otherwise
controls
five
or
more
28
residential
rental
properties
in
the
state,
or
any
that
29
manages
or
operates
residential
rental
properties
on
behalf
of
30
the
person.
“Algorithmic
rent-setting
system”
(algorithmic
31
system)
is
defined
as
software,
machine
learning,
artificial
32
intelligence,
or
other
automated
tool
used
by
a
landlord
to
33
set,
recommend,
or
adjust
rent
levels
or
occupancy
levels
for
34
residential
rental
properties,
based
in
whole
or
in
part
on
35
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2106
nonpublic
competitor
data
without
independent
individualized
1
human
review
or
decision
making.
2
The
bill
prohibits
any
landlord,
or
any
person
acting
3
on
behalf
of
a
landlord,
from
entering
into
or
engaging
in
4
any
price
fixing
with
another
landlord
regarding
rent
for
5
residential
rental
property.
The
bill
also
prohibits
a
6
landlord
from
using
an
algorithmic
system
that
relies
on
7
nonpublic
competitor
data
or
coordinates
with
other
landlords
8
to
set
or
adjust
rent
or
occupancy
levels
for
residential
9
rental
property.
A
provider
of
an
algorithmic
system
is
10
prohibited
from
providing
an
algorithmic
system
that
uses
or
11
incorporates
nonpublic
competitor
data
in
a
manner
that
fixes,
12
stabilizes,
raises,
or
maintains
the
level
of
rent
or
occupancy
13
for
residential
property;
providing
an
algorithmic
system
that
14
the
provider
of
the
algorithmic
system
knew
or
reasonably
15
should
have
known
would
be
used
for
price
fixing;
and
entering
16
into
any
agreement
with
two
or
more
landlords
to
limit
or
17
restrain
competition
in
setting
rent
or
terms
of
tenancy
using
18
the
algorithmic
system.
19
The
bill
provides
that
the
attorney
general,
or
a
county
20
attorney
or
city
attorney
may
bring
a
civil
action
for
a
21
violation
of
the
bill.
Upon
finding
that
a
landlord
or
a
22
provider
of
an
algorithmic
system
violated
the
bill,
a
court
23
may
order
civil
penalties,
to
be
deposited
into
the
general
24
fund
of
the
state,
of
up
to
$5,000
per
rental
unit
per
month
25
for
each
month
a
violation
continues,
or
a
higher
amount
as
26
determined
by
rulemaking,
injunctive
relief,
restitution,
and
27
reasonable
attorney
fees
and
costs.
28
The
bill
provides
that
a
tenant
harmed
by
a
violation
of
the
29
bill
may
bring
a
civil
action.
Upon
finding
that
a
landlord
or
30
a
provider
of
an
algorithmic
system
violated
the
bill,
a
court
31
may
order
injunctive
relief,
damages,
and
reasonable
attorney
32
fees.
33
An
action
brought
under
the
bill
must
be
commenced
within
two
34
years
of
the
violation,
and
not
afterward.
35
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The
bill
provides
an
affirmative
defense
to
any
claim
or
1
action
alleging
that
a
landlord
or
a
provider
of
an
algorithmic
2
system
violated
the
bill,
if
the
landlord
or
a
provider
of
an
3
algorithmic
system:
(1)
set
the
rent
independently
and
without
4
knowledge
of
any
agreement,
coordination,
or
shared
nonpublic
5
competitor
data
with
other
landlords;
(2)
did
not
rely
on
an
6
algorithmic
system
that
uses
nonpublic
competitor
data
to
7
coordinate
pricing;
and
(3)
conducted
due
diligence
to
ensure
8
that
any
algorithmic
system
used
was
not
designed
or
intended
9
to
facilitate
coordination
among
landlords.
The
burden
of
10
proof
for
the
affirmative
defense
lies
with
the
landlord
or
the
11
provider
of
an
algorithmic
system.
12
The
bill
requires
a
landlord
or
a
provider
of
an
algorithmic
13
system
to
retain
for
five
years
records
concerning
the
use
of
14
rent-setting
algorithms,
data
sources,
decisions,
and
human
15
oversight
of
algorithmic
rent-setting
systems.
16
The
attorney
general
may
adopt
rules
to
administer
the
bill.
17
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