Montgomery County landlords could lose access to algorithmic rent-pricing tools if the County Council passes a bill scheduled for a vote Tuesday, Oct. 20. Street-takeover participants could face fines up to $5,000 under a second bill on the same agenda.

Both measures go before the full council at its regular weekly meeting, first reported by Bethesda Magazine.

Street takeover crackdown

Councilmember Andrew Friedson (D-Dist. 1) introduced Bill 27-26 after several illegal car rallies in county neighborhoods. The most prominent: a Feb. 22 takeover at East West Highway and Connecticut Avenue in Chevy Chase.

Participants blocked the intersection and spun donuts. A crowd watched. Two police cruisers were damaged, and an officer was inside one when its rear window and windshield were smashed, according to Bethesda Magazine. Police arrested three suspects in connection with that incident in April.

A separate takeover at a Kensington Safeway parking garage on April 4 ended in a shooting that injured two people. A 19-year-old was arrested and charged.

Friedson's bill would make it illegal to participate in a street takeover as a driver, timekeeper, flagger or starter. It would also ban organizing or promoting such events and require bystanders to leave after a police dispersal order.

The original bill set the maximum fine at $1,000. The council's public safety committee on Oct. 5 raised it to $5,000. Councilmember Dawn Luedtke said during the committee hearing that participants often gamble large sums on races, according to The Banner.

"We need to make the fine significant enough that it has a deterrent effect," Luedtke said.

Councilmember Kristin Mink, who sits on the public safety committee, abstained from the Oct. 5 vote. She said she supports the bill but worries it could affect peaceful protests and wants the full council to add clearer protections, according to The Banner.

Algorithmic rent ban

Councilmember Will Jawando (D-At-large) is sponsoring Bill 8-26, which would bar landlords from using software that draws on competitor data to recommend rents. It would also prohibit "price coordination" between landlords. Councilmembers Shebra Evans (D-At-large) and Kristin Mink (D-Dist. 5) co-sponsor the measure.

The Planning, Housing and Parks (PHP) Committee unanimously advanced the bill on Oct. 5 after narrowing its definition of an algorithmic device. The original version covered tools using private landlord data, public databases or both. The amended version drops the public-database reference, aligning it with a law Rockville passed in July that takes effect Jan. 1, 2027.

Both bills followed federal and state antitrust lawsuits accusing RealPage, a property management software company, of using algorithms to reduce competition and inflate rents. The U.S. Department of Justice reached a settlement with RealPage in November 2025. Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown's lawsuit is ongoing, according to Bethesda Magazine.

The county's Office of Legislative Oversight noted that research on the economic effects of rental pricing algorithms remains limited and mixed, and flagged potential enforcement challenges, The MoCo Show reported.

The council's Tuesday session begins at 9:30 a.m. at the Stella Werner Council Office Building, 100 Maryland Ave. in Rockville.