Judge blocks part of New York's rent software law

A federal judge has put part of New York's rent software law on hold. On Sept. 29, Judge Valerie Caproni ruled that rent advice from pricing software counts as protected commercial speech. A separate part of the law, which bans helping landlords agree not to compete, is still in force.

What the law does

New York passed the law in October 2025 as an addition to its antitrust statute, the Donnelly Act. It targets software that performs a "coordinating function." That means collecting rental information from independent landlords, processing it, and recommending rents, occupancy levels or other lease terms.

Two sections matter here. Section 2 bans facilitating an anticompetitive agreement, including through software. Section 3 treats a landlord's setting or adjusting lease terms based on that software's recommendations as an unlawful agreement.

What the judge decided

RealPage licenses rent-recommendation software to property owners and managers. It sued in November 2025, arguing the law suppresses protected advice. New York said the law regulates anticompetitive conduct, not speech. Caproni sided with RealPage on Section 3 for now.

She said New York's interests in protecting competition and consumers are substantial. The problem, she wrote, was breadth. The provision did not separate advice built on public information from advice built on competitors' confidential data. She called it "a close call" and said RealPage was "marginally" likely to succeed.

Why the split matters

The ruling does not give algorithmic price-fixing a pass. The ban on facilitating real agreements among competing landlords remains enforceable. The Justice Department's separate settlement with RealPage, announced in November 2025, also limits use of competitors' nonpublic information. It became a final judgment in May 2026.

Since then, according to the opinion, RealPage has shifted toward recommendations that use customers' own information and public data, with limited exceptions. The court fight is about New York's reach over advice produced under that changed model.

What happens next

• The injunction is preliminary, not a final decision.
• Law360 reported Oct. 14 that the attorney general asked the court to reconsider and vacate it.
• Later reporting said RealPage opposes that request.
• Caproni left New York room to better explain why limiting advice based on public data protects competition.

Attorney Peter Devlin of Frankfurt Kurnit said the reasoning could matter for personalized pricing rules beyond housing. That is untested. Caproni did not decide whether any other pricing law is constitutional.