Law / United States / Washington / Seattle
Ordinance 127241 (Council Bill 121000), Algorithmic Rent Fixing
Seattle Municipal Code ch. 7.34
A citation is an address, not a summary. The first part names the law; what follows narrows it to the exact section, article or paragraph.
What follows is LexLint's own research summary of this law, not legal advice.
In force since 31 July 2025.
An AI prohibited practices rule binding public and private bodies.
As of 3 September 2026.
What it requires
- Do not offer or operate, in Seattle, a coordinating service that uses algorithms and nonpublic competitor pricing, supply, or occupancy data from two or more landlords to recommend rental prices, fees, or lease terms
- Do not accept payment from a Seattle landlord for such a coordinating service
If you get it wrong
Private right of actionYes
What it reaches
What it reaches
supply
Obligation class
Prohibition
What it makes you log
Logging duty
The chapter bans coordinating rent-setting services and separately clarifies that a landlord's own recordkeeping software is not itself a violation. It states no duty for anyone to create, keep, or produce a log or record of coordinating services.
- Kind
- None
- As of
- 21 September 2026
Who checks it
Audit expectation
none
What this law does
Drafted with AI from the cited sources under the direction of UnGovr staff. UnGovr holds editorial responsibility for this page.
It is a violation of SMC Chapter 7.34 for a landlord, in or affecting commerce, to contract with or exchange anything of value for the coordinating services of a service provider, and it is a separate violation for a service provider, in or affecting commerce, to provide coordinating services to two or more landlords. A coordinating service uses algorithms and nonpublic competitor pricing or occupancy data from multiple landlords to recommend rental prices, fees, or terms.
SMC 7.34.020 defines 'Landlord' as the owner, lessor, or sublessor of a dwelling unit and defines 'Person' to include a governmental entity. The chapter's only exclusions, in section 7.34.025, are short-term rentals and hotels, so a government agency operating as a residential landlord or as a coordinating-service provider is not carved out.
The chapter exempts a landlord's own recordkeeping software, short-term rentals, and hotels, and it exempts publicly available rent estimates that require no contract to obtain. The City Attorney may seek civil penalties of up to $7,500 per violation, and any injured person may bring a private civil action.
When LexLint raises it
high_risk_decisions
Read the law
City of Seattle official legislative record for the enacted ordinance
Every line above is drawn from the primary source linked here, read on the date shown. This is a research summary, not legal advice.