San Diego passes rent-algorithm ban, joining growing list of cities across U.S.

Driving the news: The City Council voted 8-1 Tuesday to approve the ban, proposed by Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera, who has described the service as collusion and price fixing hidden by a thin technological veil.

• Councilmember Raul Campillo cast the lone dissenting vote, out of concern that language in the ordinance could prevent landlords from measuring themselves against their competitors.

Catch-up quick: As of last year, 22% of San Diego County multifamily landlords used RealPage, which offers a service that compiles rent rates and occupancy information within a submarket and recommends the highest price a unit can fetch.

• The Department of Justice last year filed an antitrust lawsuit against the company, which California Attorney General Rob Bonta joined, and SB 52 aims to restrict it statewide.
• Minneapolis, Philadelphia and San Francisco have all banned it, but RealPage opted to sue Berkeley over its ordinance blocking the software.

The other side: RealPage sought to dismiss the DOJ suit, arguing the agency didn't demonstrate any anticompetitive effects of the product.

• The company's lawsuit against Berkeley alleges the city's ordinance violates its free speech by preventing it from making advice and recommendations to paying customers.

What we're watching: Tenants who learn their landlords are using the software can now file lawsuits against them, seeking to recover up to $1,000 in damages.