Rockville became the first city in Maryland to ban algorithmic rent pricing Tuesday, a move that adds momentum to a countywide bill that must clear a Montgomery County Council committee before an early December deadline.

Mayor Monique Ashton and the City Council voted unanimously to prohibit residential landlords from using software that draws on competitors' nonpublic data to recommend rents, fees, terms or occupancy levels. The law takes effect Jan. 1.

"Tenants in the city deserve to know that their rents are being set through independent business decisions," Ashton said.

Landlords who own only one unit in the city are exempt. Rockville officials have identified at least eight multifamily properties comprising nearly 2,000 market-rate units managed by companies named in state or federal antitrust lawsuits, according to Ashton. Tenant advocates say the actual number of affected properties is likely higher.

The countywide bill

Montgomery County Councilmember Will Jawando (D-At-large) introduced the Anti-Algorithmic Price Fixing Act earlier this year. The bill would extend a similar ban across the county. Councilmembers Shebra Evans (D-At-large) and Kristin Mink (D-Dist. 5) co-sponsored it.

Jawando called Rockville's vote "a real win" in a statement to Bethesda Magazine on Thursday, and said he wants the county bill passed so all Montgomery County renters get the same protection.

But the bill has not been scheduled for review by the council's Planning, Housing and Parks Committee. Committee chair Andrew Friedson (D-Dist. 1) told Bethesda Magazine in a text message Wednesday, July 8, that a backlog of zoning text amendments has slowed the queue.

"We are looking to add it as soon as we can find committee time to do it, most likely shortly after we return from August recess," Friedson said.

The bill expires in early December, when the new council and county executive take office. Jawando, who declared victory in the Democratic primary for county executive on June 26, would leave the council at that point. If the bill doesn't advance before the transition, it loses its lead sponsor.

Industry opposition

At a March public hearing on Jawando's bill, housing industry representatives pushed back. Brian Anleu, vice president for government affairs in Maryland at the Apartment and Office Building Association of Metropolitan Washington, argued the county "does not have a software problem" and that most housing providers do not use algorithmic devices. Those that do accept the software's recommendations only about a third of the time, he said.

Mike Semko, senior vice president at RealPage, told the council his company's software suggests a price based on market analysis rather than setting rents. He warned that other jurisdictions have seen their bans challenged in court. RealPage sued New York state in November 2025 to block that state's ban on First Amendment grounds; a federal judge has not yet ruled.

Residents can track Jawando's bill and submit written testimony through the Montgomery County Council website.