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Housing: landlord and tenants; use of certain software to share pricing information and set rent rates; prohibit. Amends title & sec. 1 of 1972 PA 348 (MCL 554.601) & adds sec. 1e.

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House Bill 4538 amends Michigan's 1972 PA 348 (the landlord-tenant security deposit act) to prohibit landlords from using algorithmic pricing devices loaded with nonpublic competitor data to coordinate rent prices or restrain the rental housing market. Section 1 is amended to add three new definitions: 'algorithmic pricing device' (an algorithm-based tool that analyzes rent data to advise landlords on pricing, excluding periodic trade-association aggregate reports and affordable-housing compliance tools); 'nonpublic competitor data' (non-publicly available information such as actual rent prices, occupancy rates, and lease dates derived from competing landlords); and 'prospective tenant' (an individual who requests to rent a unit). New Section 1e prohibits landlords from using, incorporating, or training an algorithmic pricing device with nonpublic competitor data to coordinate price, supply, or other rental housing information among two or more landlords, or to enter into agreements with other landlords in restraint of the rental housing market. A violation of Section 1e constitutes a violation of the Michigan Antitrust Reform Act, 1984 PA 274, MCL 445.771 to 445.788. The act title is also amended to add a prohibition on 'certain rent pricing devices.'

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