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WHEREAS, across the United States, landlords are using software algorithms and other information exchanges between competitors to raise rents, artificially constrain supply, and further exacerbate the housing crisis, and;
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WHEREAS, corporations sell software or access to information exchanges that promise to boost landlord profits by 1) collecting sensitive data from landlords across regional housing markets and 2) processing sensitive data and public data to recommend rent increases and create artificial scarcity by leaving a certain percentage of housing units vacant, and;
WHEREAS, the problem is exacerbated by a trend towards consolidation primarily in local rental housing markets, as more units wind up in the hands of large, institutional landlords and rental property managers, and;
WHEREAS, this price fixing in rental housing markets constitutes the collusion of landlords to fix prices through the abuse of software tools, and;
WHEREAS, access to affordable housing and fair and transparent rental housing prices is a critical issue for the residents of Pittsburgh, and;
WHEREAS, the City of Pittsburgh Affordable Housing Task Force's Housing Needs Assessment found that gross rents increased by 16% since 2015, which was less than the growth rate in household income, and;
WHEREAS, the City of Pittsburgh Affordable Housing Task Force's Housing Needs Assessment found that there has been a loss of 3,000 low-income renters since 2015, and;
WHEREAS, the City of Pittsburgh Affordable Housing Task Force's Housing Needs Assessment found that 2 in 5 renters are cost-burdened and spend more than 30% of their income on housing, and over a quarter of renters spend over 50% of their income on housing, and;
WHEREAS, the City of Pittsburgh Affordable Housing Task Force's Housing Needs Assessment estimated that there is a shortage of roughly 15,000 affordable homes, and;
WHEREAS, the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2018 report found tha...
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