Portland Ordinance 30.01.088 - Regulation of algorithmic tools to set prices and occupancy terms

On November 19, 2025 the Portland City Council passed Ordinance 30.01.088 in an effort to regulate the use of algorithmic tools to set prices and occupancy terms. The Ordinance takes effect 90 days after passage, approximately mid-February of 2026.

The Ordinance states that no person or entity shall engage in price fixing or use any “service, software, or system” that engages in price fixing.

Price fixing is defined as:

1. Agreements (verbal, written or inferred from conduct) among two or more persons or entities to set, raise, lower, maintain or stabilize rental prices, fees or occupancy levels for dwelling units with different beneficial owners. This is particularly impactful to property management companies managing for more than one ownership group.
   
   The term “beneficial owner” means any individual who, directly or indirectly, exercises substantial control over the ownership interest in a dwelling unit or owns or controls at least 25 percent of the ownership interest in a dwelling unit.
   
   
2. Establishing rental prices, lease terms, or occupancy levels of a dwelling unit, using a system, software, process, algorithm, model training, runtime operation or similar method involving information about historical, current, or anticipated rental prices, price changes, supply, occupancy rates, lease terms or renewal dates of dwelling units with different beneficial owners. This is particularly impactful to property management companies managing for more than one ownership group.

The second definition of price fixing is especially broad, and ostensibly brings most properties managed by professional companies within its scope. However, the ordinance has a carve-out that addresses some of the ordinance’s breadth. Specifically, price fixing is NOT:

1. Collecting, analyzing or communicating historical, current or anticipated rental prices, price changes, supply or occupancy rates for uses other than setting rent, lease terms or occupancy levels.
   
   
2. Conducting appraisals, feasibility studies or market research.
   
   
3. Routine property management activities that do not enable coordinated decision making about dwelling units with different beneficial owners.
   
   
4. Collecting, analyzing or communicating public data without referencing nonpublic data about dwelling units with different beneficial owners or otherwise enabling coordinating decision making about dwelling units with different beneficial owners.

The term “public data,” for purposes of the ordinance, “consists of information about the rental price, lease term, or the occupancy level of a dwelling unit that is available to the general public, including:

1. Information contained in government records or any public disclosure required by law;
   
   
2. Information contained in widely distributed media including, information on a property’s website and promotional materials, or listing information contained on an internet listing service; and
   
   
3. Information contained in online services that make public recommendations about rental prices or lease terms, regardless of whether the online service requires registration, or an exchange of anything of value.”

Consequently, one of the potential keys to compliance will be using software that that demonstrably does not use non-public information when setting prices and occupancy at each property.

The City also created a limited set of exemptions to the ordinance. Specifically, the following are exempt from the new regulation:

1. Contract executed prior to the effective date of the Ordinance.
   
   
2. Operation of dwelling units regulated, subsidized or certified as affordable housing by a federal, state or local government or the administration of a federal, state or local government rental assistance program.
   
   
3. Dwelling units of beneficial owners of five or fewer dwelling units.

Penalties:

Actions under this Ordinance must be brough within 5 years of the most recent violation either via civil action or City enforcement. Each month rent is charged in violation of the Ordinance constitutes a separate violation. Each contract instituted in violation of the Ordinance constitutes a separate violation. Affected dwelling units include any dwelling unit whose rent was determined in violation of the Ordinance, and all dwelling unit in an apartment building or complex that had its occupancy rate determined in violation of the Ordinance.

Civil Action:

Actions can be brought in any court of competent jurisdiction for damages, injunctive relief, reasonable attorneys’ fees and such other remedies as may be appropriate.

Additional penalties are staggered based on number of units owed as follows:

1. Beneficial ownership of 5-15 dwelling units: $300 per violation.
   
   
2. Beneficial ownership of 16 or more dwelling units: the greater of treble damages or statutory damages of $1000 per violation.

City Enforcement:

City attorneys may investigate violations and file complaints with the Code Hearings Officer to award injunctive relief, damages, restitution, reasonable attorney’s fees, enforcement costs and civil penalties up to $1000 per violation.

This is a complex and nuanced area of the law that is untested and vague. Clients should seek guidance from an attorney regarding their practices and associated risks.