TL;DR — 30 seconds
As of January 1, 2026, California bans residential landlords from using rent-pricing software that aggregates competitor data. RealPage, Yardi YieldStar, and similar platforms are off the table. Public-data tools (Zillow, RentCafe) are still fine. Penalties: rent rollback, AG fines up to $10,000 per unit, plus tenant private lawsuits.
What AB 325 actually bans
AB 325 prohibits California residential landlords from using or contracting for the use of any algorithmic device or service that:
- Aggregates non-public rent, vacancy, lease-term, or other competitive rental data from multiple landlords or property managers, AND
- Uses that aggregated data to recommend or set rent prices, vacancy strategy, lease terms, or pricing concessions for a residential rental property
This is the California analog to the federal antitrust litigation against RealPage's YieldStar platform, which has been the subject of DOJ scrutiny since 2022. AB 325 codifies a per-se prohibition under California law, on top of any federal exposure.
The named target is RealPage, but AB 325 is platform-neutral — Yardi YieldStar, Anyone Home, AppFolio Smart Pricing, and any future entrant that ingests competitor data and outputs pricing recommendations is covered.
What's still legal (most of the toolkit)
AB 325 doesn't ban data-informed pricing in general. It bans one specific mechanism: aggregation of non-public competitor data plus an algorithmic recommendation. Everything else still works:
- Pulling your own portfolio comp data to set pricing on a specific unit
- Using publicly available data like Zillow listings, RentCafe, Apartments.com, public MLS, etc.
- Using your property management platform's tools for marketing, leasing, accounting, etc. — only the algorithmic pricing recommendation is banned
- Manual market research (calling competitors, walking other properties, online listing review)
- BLS/Census/HUD data for macro market analysis
The line is the aggregation of non-public competitor rent data plus a pricing recommendation algorithm. Keep your data sources public and your decisions human, and you stay clear of AB 325.
What violations cost
AB 325 enforcement comes from two directions:
- Tenant private right of action. A tenant whose rent was set via a banned algorithm can sue for a rent rollback to the pre-algorithm market rate, plus statutory damages and attorney's fees.
- Attorney General enforcement. The CA AG can pursue civil fines up to $10,000 per unit per violation.
- Class action exposure. A landlord using a banned algorithm across a large portfolio can face class-action litigation aggregating tenant claims.
- Federal antitrust overlap. Conduct violating AB 325 may also violate federal antitrust law, exposing the landlord to DOJ action and treble damages.
What to do if you've been using one of these tools
The deadline is already past. If you're still subscribed to RealPage YieldStar, Yardi YieldStar, or any similar algorithmic pricing platform, the steps:
- Cancel the subscription or downgrade to a version that does not use competitor data
- Document the date of cancellation for any future inquiry
- Switch to public-data + portfolio-data pricing using sources like Zillow, RentCafe, your own portfolio history, and human judgment
- Train any staff who set rents on the new permitted methodology
- Update your property management software contracts to confirm no algorithmic rent recommendation is being used
NGC has never used algorithmic pricing platforms in the YieldStar mold and has no AB 325 exposure. Owners self-managing or using small-firm property managers should confirm their pricing methodology in writing.
The backstory
AB 325 followed years of antitrust attention to algorithmic rent-pricing platforms. The argument: by aggregating non-public rent data across competing landlords and recommending similar prices, these tools effectively coordinated pricing across competitors. The federal DOJ filed an antitrust case against RealPage in 2024 making essentially that argument under the Sherman Act.
The California legislature concluded that whether or not the federal antitrust case ultimately succeeded, the California rental market had been meaningfully affected by these platforms — adoption among professionally managed multifamily landlords had been significant for years — and that a per-se ban under state law was the cleanest remedy.
AB 325 is one of the most aggressive state-level interventions in algorithmic-pricing software anywhere in the United States as of 2026.
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Common questions
What exactly does AB 325 ban?
Algorithmic rent-pricing software that ingests non-public competitor rent data and recommends prices. RealPage YieldStar, Yardi pricing tools, and any similar platform. The ban took effect January 1, 2026.
Can I still use Zillow or RentCafe for comps?
Yes. AB 325 only reaches non-public competitor data plus algorithmic recommendation. Public listing data — Zillow, RentCafe, Apartments.com, MLS — is fine.
What's the penalty for using a banned tool?
Tenant private suits for rent rollback plus statutory damages and attorney's fees. AG civil fines up to $10,000 per unit per violation. Federal antitrust exposure on top of all of that.
Is there a small-landlord exception?
No. The ban applies regardless of portfolio size.
How do you price units without an algorithm?
Your own portfolio data, public listing platforms (Zillow, RentCafe), and human judgment. It's how careful operators have always priced. NGC has never used a YieldStar-class tool and offers a free pricing analysis to OC owners that need to migrate off one.
CA Landlord Laws