Revenue management software has just been outlawed in the Golden City. In a groundbreaking move to promote housing fairness, San Francisco has become the first U.S. city to ban rent-setting algorithmic software like Yardi and RealPage.

According to Aaron Peskin, President of the Board of Supervisors, the legislation bans the sale and use of software that combines non-public competitor data to set, recommend, or advise on rents and occupancy levels.

For renters, this represents a victory in the fight against inflated rental rates and occupancy, promising more predictable and stable pricing. However, landlords and property management companies are likely to express concern.

Currently, 70% of all San Francisco units' pricing and availability are controlled by users of revenue management software. One moment, pricing is set by software that's legal (albeit with some legal concerns), and the next, it must be shut down.

This bold move could inspire other high-rent areas to follow suit. Without revenue management software to determine rents, must we revert to traditional methods such as manual market surveys? Absolutely not.

There are alternative proptech solutions that eliminate the need to return to comp calling and manual data entry while enhancing your revenue management process. Automated market surveys that pull public data surface essential metrics, including rental rates, concessions, unit availability, vacancy, and more to refine your rent-setting process and stay compliant in the municipalities you operate in.

The data is publicly available and aggregated in real-time from community online leasing portals. Renters see the same property information collected and displayed on the platform, providing a comprehensive competitor analysis and reporting at a detailed, granular level.

You'll be able to continue to operate at scale with public data to drive your rent decisions, protecting you and your business.

The new ban on rent-setting algorithms in San Francisco marks a significant milestone in the multifamily real estate industry. With standard operating procedures for unit pricing needing to be amended for San Francisco apartments, it will be interesting to see how this plays out and shapes our industry.