Bill > S3699

Introduced Session

This bill prohibits the facilitation of agreements among rental property owners who restrict competition with respect to residential dwelling units. Under the bill, it is unlawful and a violation of the "New Jersey Antitrust Act" for (1) a rental property owner, or any agent, representative, or subcontractor thereof, to subscribe to, contract with, or otherwise exchange any form of consideration in return for the use of services of a coordinator; (2) a coordinator to facilitate an agreement among rental property owners that restricts competition with respect to residential dwelling units, including by performing a coordinating function; and (3) two or more rental property owners to engage in consciously parallel pricing coordination. A "coordinator" is defined in the bill to mean any person who operates a software or data analytics service that performs a coordinating function for any rental property owner, including a rental property owner performing a coordinating function for their own benefit. "Coordinating function" is defined to mean (1) collecting historical or contemporaneous prices, supply levels, or lease or rental contract termination and renewal dates of residential dwelling units from two or more rental property owners; (2) analyzing or processing of the information described in paragraph (1) through use of a system, software, or process that uses computation, including by using the information to train an algorithm; and (3) recommending rental prices, lease renewal terms, or ideal occupancy levels to a rental property owner. "Consciously parallel pricing coordination" means a tacit agreement between two or more rental property owners to raise, lower, change, maintain, or manipulate pricing for the purchase or sale of reasonably interchangeable products or services. The bill further stipulates that current enforcement provisions of the New Jersey Antitrust Act will apply to violations committed pursuant to this bill. Additionally, in a civil action filed pursuant to the bill, a complaint is considered to plausibly plead a violation of the New Jersey Antitrust Act if the complaint (1) contains factual allegations demonstrating that the existence of a contract, combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy in restraint of trade or commerce is among the realm of plausible possibilities; and (2) need not allege facts tending to exclude the possibility of independent action. Lastly, the Department of Law and Public Safety, in conjunction with the Department of Community Affairs, is required to develop and undertake a public education program designed to inform the citizens of this State of the provisions of the bill. A component of this program is to include information posted on the website of each department dedicated to the provisions of the bill and the steps a consumer is to take if the consumer suspects a violation.

Committee Categories

Joe Cryan (D)*,  Vin Gopal (D)*, 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee (on 09/30/2024)

Official Document