Illinois · House Bill · 103rd General Assembly (2023–2024)
HB5871
Illinois HB 5871 — Prohibition of Algorithmics in Rent Act

Status ● Failed Effective N/A Passage Likelihood N/A

WHAT THIS BILL REGULATES · 1 REQUIREMENT TYPE

How Is This Bill Enforced

Enforcement Authority
Enforcement through the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act (815 ILCS 505). The Attorney General is the primary enforcement authority. Private actions may be brought under the Consumer Fraud Act by persons who suffer actual damage as a result of a violation.
Private Right of Action
No private right of action. Enforcement is exclusive to the designated authority.
Penalties
Remedies are those available under the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act (815 ILCS 505), which provides for injunctive relief, civil penalties up to $50,000 per violation ($50,000 for violations involving persons 65+ or disabled), and attorney's fees and costs for private actions requiring proof of actual damage. The bill does not create an independent private right of action; private enforcement relies on the Consumer Fraud Act's existing private-action provision, which requires proof of actual damage.

What This Bill Requires

Verbatim statutory text on the left; plain-language analysis and a per-section checklist on the right. Numbered markers cross-link to the matching checklist row.

Statutory Text
Analysis & Obligations
Section 1
Short title

This Act may be cited as the Prohibition of Algorithmics in RentRent"Rent" means the total amount of rent, including concessions and fees, that a residential tenant is required to pay under a rental agreement.Section 10 Act.

Establishes the short title of the Act as the Prohibition of Algorithmics in Rent Act. Creates no compliance obligation.

Section 5
Legislative intent

The General Assembly finds that, with certain exceptions, the use of an algorithmic deviceAlgorithmic device"Algorithmic device" means a device that uses one or more algorithms to perform calculations of data, including data concerning local or statewide rent amounts being charged to tenants by landlords, for the purpose of advising a landlord concerning the amount of rent that the landlord may consider charging a tenant. It includes a product that incorporates an algorithmic device but does not include: (1) any report published periodically, but no more frequently than monthly, by a trade association that receives renter data and publishes it in an aggregated and anonymous manner; or (2) a product used for the purpose of establishing rent or income limits in accordance with the affordable housing program guidelines of a local government, the State, the federal government, or other political subdivision.Section 10 by a landlord to set the amount of a residential tenant's rentRent"Rent" means the total amount of rent, including concessions and fees, that a residential tenant is required to pay under a rental agreement.Section 10 should be prohibited because the use of algorithmic devicesAlgorithmic device"Algorithmic device" means a device that uses one or more algorithms to perform calculations of data, including data concerning local or statewide rent amounts being charged to tenants by landlords, for the purpose of advising a landlord concerning the amount of rent that the landlord may consider charging a tenant. It includes a product that incorporates an algorithmic device but does not include: (1) any report published periodically, but no more frequently than monthly, by a trade association that receives renter data and publishes it in an aggregated and anonymous manner; or (2) a product used for the purpose of establishing rent or income limits in accordance with the affordable housing program guidelines of a local government, the State, the federal government, or other political subdivision.Section 10: (1) has been the subject of lawsuits that allege such products pose a heightened risk of anticompetitive conduct, price fixing, and collusion, all of which allegedly result in higher rentsRent"Rent" means the total amount of rent, including concessions and fees, that a residential tenant is required to pay under a rental agreement.Section 10 for residential tenants; and (2) allegedly poses the risk that landlords will outsource pricing decisions, which the General Assembly finds should always be made by the landlord.

Recites the General Assembly's findings that algorithmic rent-pricing devices pose heightened risks of anticompetitive conduct, price fixing, and collusion resulting in higher rents, and that landlords should not outsource pricing decisions to algorithmic tools. These findings frame the prohibition in Section 15 but create no independent compliance duty.

Section 10
Definitions

"Algorithmic deviceAlgorithmic device"Algorithmic device" means a device that uses one or more algorithms to perform calculations of data, including data concerning local or statewide rent amounts being charged to tenants by landlords, for the purpose of advising a landlord concerning the amount of rent that the landlord may consider charging a tenant. It includes a product that incorporates an algorithmic device but does not include: (1) any report published periodically, but no more frequently than monthly, by a trade association that receives renter data and publishes it in an aggregated and anonymous manner; or (2) a product used for the purpose of establishing rent or income limits in accordance with the affordable housing program guidelines of a local government, the State, the federal government, or other political subdivision.Section 10" means a device that uses one or more algorithms to perform calculations of data, including data concerning local or statewide rentRent"Rent" means the total amount of rent, including concessions and fees, that a residential tenant is required to pay under a rental agreement.Section 10 amounts being charged to tenants by landlords, for the purpose of advising a landlord concerning the amount of rentRent"Rent" means the total amount of rent, including concessions and fees, that a residential tenant is required to pay under a rental agreement.Section 10 that the landlord may consider charging a tenant. It includes a product that incorporates an algorithmic deviceAlgorithmic device"Algorithmic device" means a device that uses one or more algorithms to perform calculations of data, including data concerning local or statewide rent amounts being charged to tenants by landlords, for the purpose of advising a landlord concerning the amount of rent that the landlord may consider charging a tenant. It includes a product that incorporates an algorithmic device but does not include: (1) any report published periodically, but no more frequently than monthly, by a trade association that receives renter data and publishes it in an aggregated and anonymous manner; or (2) a product used for the purpose of establishing rent or income limits in accordance with the affordable housing program guidelines of a local government, the State, the federal government, or other political subdivision.Section 10 but does not include: (1) any report published periodically, but no more frequently than monthly, by a trade association that receives renter data and publishes it in an aggregated and anonymous manner; or (2) a product used for the purpose of establishing rentRent"Rent" means the total amount of rent, including concessions and fees, that a residential tenant is required to pay under a rental agreement.Section 10 or income limits in accordance with the affordable housing program guidelines of a local government, the State, the federal government, or other political subdivision.

"Nonpublic competitor dataNonpublic competitor data"Nonpublic competitor data" means information that is not widely available or easily accessible to the public, including information about actual rent prices, occupancy rates, lease start and end dates, and similar data, regardless of whether the data are attributable to a specific competitor or anonymized, and that is derived from or otherwise provided by another person that competes in the same market as a person, or a related market.Section 10" means information that is not widely available or easily accessible to the public, including information about actual rentRent"Rent" means the total amount of rent, including concessions and fees, that a residential tenant is required to pay under a rental agreement.Section 10 prices, occupancy rates, lease start and end dates, and similar data, regardless of whether the data are attributable to a specific competitor or anonymized, and that is derived from or otherwise provided by another person that competes in the same market as a person, or a related market.

"RentRent"Rent" means the total amount of rent, including concessions and fees, that a residential tenant is required to pay under a rental agreement.Section 10" means the total amount of rentRent"Rent" means the total amount of rent, including concessions and fees, that a residential tenant is required to pay under a rental agreement.Section 10, including concessions and fees, that a residential tenant is required to pay under a rental agreement.

Defines the three key terms used throughout the Act: algorithmic device, nonpublic competitor data, and rent. The algorithmic device definition is notable for its breadth — it covers any product that uses algorithms to calculate data for the purpose of advising a landlord on rent — but includes two carve-outs for aggregated trade-association reports and affordable-housing compliance tools. The nonpublic competitor data definition reaches data regardless of whether it has been anonymized, capturing tools that aggregate de-identified rental data from competing landlords.

Section 15
Algorithmic device in setting rent amount prohibited
Deployer

(a) 1 In setting the amount of rentRent"Rent" means the total amount of rent, including concessions and fees, that a residential tenant is required to pay under a rental agreement.Section 10 to be charged to a tenant for the occupancy of a residential premises, including determining any change in the amount of rentRent"Rent" means the total amount of rent, including concessions and fees, that a residential tenant is required to pay under a rental agreement.Section 10 to be charged for the renewed occupancy of a residential premises, a landlord shall not employ, use, or rely upon, or cause another person to employ, use, or rely upon, an algorithmic deviceAlgorithmic device"Algorithmic device" means a device that uses one or more algorithms to perform calculations of data, including data concerning local or statewide rent amounts being charged to tenants by landlords, for the purpose of advising a landlord concerning the amount of rent that the landlord may consider charging a tenant. It includes a product that incorporates an algorithmic device but does not include: (1) any report published periodically, but no more frequently than monthly, by a trade association that receives renter data and publishes it in an aggregated and anonymous manner; or (2) a product used for the purpose of establishing rent or income limits in accordance with the affordable housing program guidelines of a local government, the State, the federal government, or other political subdivision.Section 10 that uses, incorporates, or was trained with nonpublic competitor dataNonpublic competitor data"Nonpublic competitor data" means information that is not widely available or easily accessible to the public, including information about actual rent prices, occupancy rates, lease start and end dates, and similar data, regardless of whether the data are attributable to a specific competitor or anonymized, and that is derived from or otherwise provided by another person that competes in the same market as a person, or a related market.Section 10.

(b) A violation of this Act constitutes an unlawful practice within the meaning of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.

This is the bill's core operative section. Subsection (a) prohibits landlords from employing, using, or relying upon — or causing another person to employ, use, or rely upon — an algorithmic device that uses, incorporates, or was trained with nonpublic competitor data when setting or adjusting residential rent. The prohibition covers both initial rent-setting and renewal pricing. Subsection (b) classifies any violation as an unlawful practice under the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, bringing the full enforcement apparatus of that statute to bear.

Compliance actions 1 item
1
Landlords must not employ, use, or rely upon — or cause another person to employ, use, or rely upon — an algorithmic deviceAlgorithmic device"Algorithmic device" means a device that uses one or more algorithms to perform calculations of data, including data concerning local or statewide rent amounts being charged to tenants by landlords, for the purpose of advising a landlord concerning the amount of rent that the landlord may consider charging a tenant. It includes a product that incorporates an algorithmic device but does not include: (1) any report published periodically, but no more frequently than monthly, by a trade association that receives renter data and publishes it in an aggregated and anonymous manner; or (2) a product used for the purpose of establishing rent or income limits in accordance with the affordable housing program guidelines of a local government, the State, the federal government, or other political subdivision.Section 10 that uses, incorporates, or was trained with nonpublic competitor dataNonpublic competitor data"Nonpublic competitor data" means information that is not widely available or easily accessible to the public, including information about actual rent prices, occupancy rates, lease start and end dates, and similar data, regardless of whether the data are attributable to a specific competitor or anonymized, and that is derived from or otherwise provided by another person that competes in the same market as a person, or a related market.Section 10 when setting or adjusting residential rentRent"Rent" means the total amount of rent, including concessions and fees, that a residential tenant is required to pay under a rental agreement.Section 10.
CP-03
Section 20
Applicability

This Act applies to a landlord's calculation of the amount of rentRent"Rent" means the total amount of rent, including concessions and fees, that a residential tenant is required to pay under a rental agreement.Section 10 that the landlord charges for the occupancy of a residential premises under any rental agreement that is executed on or after the effective date of this Act.

Limits the Act's application to rental agreements executed on or after the effective date, meaning existing leases and renewals entered into before the effective date are not subject to the prohibition. This temporal scope provision creates no independent compliance duty.

815 ILCS 505/2EEEE
Consumer Fraud Act conforming amendment

The Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act is amended by adding Section 2EEEE as follows:

Amends the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act to add a new Section 2EEEE providing that a violation of the Prohibition of Algorithmics in Rent Act constitutes an unlawful practice. This is the statutory hook that connects the substantive prohibition in Section 15 to the Consumer Fraud Act's enforcement remedies. No independent compliance obligation is created beyond what Section 15(b) already establishes.

Passage Likelihood

Failed
Status Failed
Final action Session Sine Die

Legislative History

2024-08-12 Filed with the Clerk by Rep. Kevin John Olickal
2024-11-12 First Reading
2024-11-12 Referred to Rules Committee
2025-01-07 Session Sine Die

Entry Last Reviewed

2026-05-16
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