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1 (d) The software has contributed to double-digit rent increases, higher vacancy <br /> 2 rates, and higher rates of eviction, and has generally distorted markets so that rents and <br /> 3 vacancy rates have increased in tandem. <br /> 4 (e) Often used by large corporate landlords, the software fuels the consolidation of <br /> 5 corporate and private equity ownership of rental housing, at the expense of landlords large <br /> 6 and small who are willing to play by the normal rules. Landlords using these tools are not <br /> 7 engaging in appropriate market behavior. And the companies developing and selling these <br /> g tools to San Francisco landlords are not doing so either, and are contributing to these <br /> g problems. <br /> 10 (f) Numerous antitrust lawsuits have been filed against certain of these companies, <br /> 11 including RealPage, Inc. and Yardi Systems, Inc. The lawsuits allege that these companies <br /> 12 are enabling and participating in a scheme of unlawful rent-fixing. These include a lawsuit <br /> 13 filed by the District of Columbia Attorney General in November 2023, a lawsuit filed by the <br /> 14 Arizona Attorney General in February 2024, and more than 20 federal private class action <br /> 15 lawsuits filed nationwide that have been consolidated in the federal court in the Middle District <br /> 16 of Tennessee. The United States Department of Justice recently filed a Statement of Interest <br /> 17 in support of the efforts to regulate these companies. <br /> 18 (g) Instead of waiting for court processes which may take years to resolve, this <br /> 19 ordinance prohibits the sale or use of algorithmic devices for the purpose of setting rents on <br /> 20 residential dwelling units in San Francisco, to bring immediate relief to San Francisco tenants, <br /> 21 as well as to put landlords who have been using these devices on equal footing with those <br /> 22 who are willing to adhere to fair standards for setting rental rates. <br /> 23 (h) This ordinance is not intended to prevent the development or sale of software to <br /> 24 help landlords manage their units generally or through the use of public data. Nor does this <br /> 25 ordinance regulate the amount of rent that a landlord may charge. This ordinance takes aim <br /> Supervisors Peskin; Chan, Preston, Melgar, Ronen, Dorsey <br /> BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Page 2 <br />