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Hoboken could become second NJ city to bar landlords from using AI to set rent
By
Mike Hayes
Published Jun 17, 2025
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Gary Hershorn/Getty Images
By
Mike Hayes
Published Jun 17, 2025
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Hoboken appears poised to become the second New Jersey city to ban the use of artificial intelligence tools to set rents amid criticism from lawmakers around the country who allege that software algorithms are artificially driving up housing costs.
Hoboken’s city council members voted unanimously 8-0 to introduce the measure two weeks ago. A final vote had been scheduled for Monday night but was postponed until the next meeting on July 9, Councilmember Phil Cohen said. If the council votes to adopt the measure at its next meeting, Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla told Gothamist he intends to sign it into law shortly thereafter.
“ This is rank corporate greed that Hoboken will not tolerate because it's having a direct impact on families in the city,” Bhalla said.
If passed, Hoboken would follow its neighbor Jersey City, which adopted a similar law last month. In both cities, violators would be subject to fines of up to $2,000. However, Hoboken’s current version of the measure goes a step further. Landlords flouting the law could face 90 days in jail.
New York lawmakers have also acted aggressively to curb the use of artificial intelligence to set rents. Assemblyember Linda Rosenthal and state Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal authored legislation to ban the practice that passed both the state Senate and Assembly this year. The bill now goes to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s desk. She said she supports a ban in her State of the State address earlier this year.
Landlords who use the tools upload information about their apartment units, including private details on rental rates. Critics say that this sharing of proprietary information amounts to collusion by the landlords and software providers to manipulate the market. A 2022 investigation by ProPublica revealed the executives of RealPage, the leading software provider in the industry, boasted about how their algorithm allowed landlords to beat the market and charge more for rent.
Some attorneys general around the country agree that use of the rent-setting software amounts to collusion. Top law enforcement officials in eight states — including New Jersey and New York — have brought antitrust lawsuits against RealPage and major corporate landlords using the software.
In Hoboken, rents have skyrocketed over the past decade. The roughly one-square-mile city just across the Hudson River from Manhattan has seen the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment go from $2,700 to more than $4,000 in the last 10 years, according to rent.com.
Many landlords — including some smaller property owners who don’t use the tools — oppose the AI bans, arguing that the larger problem driving up rents is the slow pace of affordable housing coming online in high priced cities.
Jennifer Bowcock, spokesperson for RealPage, did not respond to a request to comment on Hoboken’s proposal.
Last month, Bowcock told Gothamist in a statement the company’s software is “legally compliant” and “has always used data legally and responsibly.”
“RealPage’s revenue management software helps housing providers comply with fair housing laws, rent control laws and state of emergency price gouging laws, and does not use any personal or demographic data to generate rent price recommendations,” the statement said.
Tagged
housing
new jersey
Mike Hayes
Mike Hayes covers equity and access to opportunity in New Jersey. He joined WNYC and Gothamist in 2023. Before that, he worked as a freelance journalist writing about policing and criminal justice. He has written for ProPublica, CNN, HuffPost, BuzzFeed News and The Appeal. He is also the author of the book, “The Secret Files: Bill De Blasio, The NYPD, and the Broken Promises of Police Reform.” In 2019, he was a finalist for the Livingston Award for Young Journalists.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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