Governor Sherrill has signed two sweeping new laws that impose strict limits on algorithm-driven pricing for residential rents and consumer goods across New Jersey.
The legislation marks a significant escalation in state-level scrutiny of how automated systems and consumer data influence everyday pricing decisions affecting millions of residents.
The first measure, the Forbidding the Algorithmic Inflation of Rent Act, known as the FAIR Act, was enacted on July 20, 2026, and takes effect on July 1, 2027.
Lawmakers passed the FAIR Act in direct response to what the Legislature characterised as an affordable housing crisis, citing findings that more than 50% of New Jersey renters are “rent burdened.”
The Legislature also cited national data indicating that residential landlords have used property-management software to coordinate pricing, restrain competition, and increase residential rents across the country.
Rather than banning all algorithmic tools outright, the FAIR Act targets systems that perform a “coordinating function,” meaning those that collect competitively sensitive information from two or more rental property owners and use it to set or recommend rents, lease terms, or occupancy levels.
The law makes it unlawful under the New Jersey Antitrust Act for a rental property owner, or its agent, representative, or subcontractor, to provide consideration in exchange for the use of a covered coordinator.
Landlords subscribing to covered technology platforms and the vendors supplying those platforms could both face exposure under the statute, creating compliance obligations across the residential property sector.
The FAIR Act does contain notable carve-outs, excluding certain research and statistical analysis, publicly available rent estimates provided at no cost, qualifying real estate brokerage databases, and government-imposed affordability controls.
Conventional spreadsheets that operate without artificial intelligence and require human analysis are also excluded from the definition of an “algorithmic device” under the new law.
The second measure, the Fair Price Protection Act, was signed on July 23, 2026, and becomes effective August 1, 2027, targeting what it defines as “surveillance pricing” of groceries and other covered goods.
The Fair Price Act defines surveillance pricing as pricing where the cost of goods is determined, adjusted, or recommended by an algorithm based at least in part on personal data, resulting in different prices for individual consumers or groups.
The definition expressly covers data gathered through technologies including sensors, cameras, device tracking, and biometric monitoring, reflecting the breadth of tools now used in retail environments.
The law makes surveillance pricing unlawful under New Jersey’s consumer-fraud statute, with “personal data” broadly defined as information linked or reasonably linked to an identified or identifiable consumer.
Certain exemptions apply, including bona fide loyalty-programme discounts and price differences based on the reasonable cost of delivering goods, provided no price changes occur more than once in a twenty-four-hour period.
Starting February 1, 2027, the Fair Price Act also imposes a one-year moratorium on the new deployment of electronic shelf labels, the digital displays used to show an item’s current price in retail settings.
During that moratorium period, the New Jersey Innovation Authority, in consultation with the Division of Consumer Affairs, is directed to study electronic shelf labels and their relationship to surveillance pricing.
The authority is then required to report its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature before the moratorium expires in early 2028.
Businesses may still purchase or install electronic shelf labels during the moratorium solely to repair or replace labels already operating at the same location before the effective date.
Affected landlords, property managers, grocery retailers, and technology vendors should review their pricing systems, data practices, and vendor relationships carefully before the applicable effective dates arrive.