On December 11, 2025, the White House issued a new Executive Order, Ensuring a National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence (EO Dec 11 2025), establishing a unified federal AI policy and directing federal agencies to evaluate and, where appropriate, challenge state-level AI laws that could conflict with national standards. The White House+1
While this Executive Order is not specific to the rental housing industry, it underscores evolving federal priorities around artificial intelligence governance that may indirectly affect how housing providers use and oversight AI tools.
Key elements of the December 11 Executive Order
- Federal preemption focus: The Order directs the Department of Justice to create an AI Litigation Task Force to challenge state AI laws deemed inconsistent with the federal policy framework, particularly on grounds of interstate commerce or conflict with federal standards.
- State law evaluation: The Department of Commerce will publish an evaluation of existing state AI laws that identifies those considered “onerous” or conflicting with the national policy framework.
- Funding conditions: The Order allows federal agencies to consider conditioning certain discretionary funding on states’ willingness to align with national AI policy objectives. The White House
- Federal reporting standards & 15 U.S.C. § 45 policy statement: Agencies such as the FCC and FTC are directed to explore federal reporting or disclosure standards for AI models and explain how existing federal authorities may preempt conflicting state requirements.
Why this matters for rental housing
AI technologies, including tenant screening platforms, automated decision systems, pricing analytics, and other machine-assisted tools, are increasingly embedded in housing operations. Although this Order does not regulate AI use in housing directly, it signals a broader federal intent to:
- Limit state-specific AI requirements that could impose divergent obligations (e.g., transparency, reporting, or bias mitigation standards) on vendors or housing providers.
- Encourage a uniform AI policy framework that federal agencies and courts may reference when interpreting compliance obligations.
- Potentially influence how AI vendors design products if federal policy becomes dominant over a patchwork of state laws.
Areas to watch for housing providers
- Tenant screening tools and fair housing compliance: As federal agencies articulate overarching AI policy standards, housing providers should ensure AI tools align with both federal civil rights obligations and any emergent reporting or transparency expectations, regardless of evolving state laws.
- Vendor disclosures and auditability: The push toward federal reporting/standards may lead vendors to publish additional documentation or compliance protocols, which housing providers should review.
- State law conflicts: Providers operating in multiple states should monitor how this Executive Order might affect state-level AI requirements in areas such as consumer protections, transparency, and algorithmic accountability.
Next steps
The Executive Order directs agencies to act over the coming months, including publishing evaluations, establishing task forces, and issuing policy statements, so this landscape will continue to develop. We will keep you informed of relevant guidance or rulemaking that could impact AI-enabled tools in rental housing operations.
Please reach out to your legal counsel if you have specific questions about AI applications in your properties or vendor contracts.
Published: January 5, 2026
