Proposed Rule2026-04907
Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Rental Housing Fee Practices
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
March 13, 2026
Issuing agencies
Federal Trade Commission
Abstract
The Federal Trade Commission ("Commission") proposes to commence a rulemaking proceeding to address unfair or deceptive acts or practices relating to advertised rent and other fees and charges in the rental housing industry. To assist the Commission in determining the existence and prevalence of any such potentially unfair or deceptive practices and exploring ways to address them, the Commission is soliciting written comment, including data and argument, concerning such fees and charges throughout a lease lifecycle, from application to move out. The Commission is soliciting such public comment to determine the need for a rule to prevent persons, entities, and organizations from engaging in unfair or deceptive practices in connection with rental housing fees and charges, such as advertising rent that fails to include all mandatory fees or charges, imposing fees and charges without express informed consent, and misleading consumers about the nature and purpose of fees or charges.
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 49 (Friday, March 13, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 49 (Friday, March 13, 2026)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 12325-12333]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-04907]
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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
16 CFR Chapter I
RIN 3084-AB88
Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Rental Housing Fee Practices
AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.
ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking; request for public
comment.
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SUMMARY: The Federal Trade Commission (``Commission'') proposes to
commence a rulemaking proceeding to address unfair or deceptive acts or
practices relating to advertised rent and other fees and charges in the
rental housing industry. To assist the Commission in determining the
existence and prevalence of any such potentially unfair or deceptive
practices and exploring ways to address them, the Commission is
soliciting written comment, including data and argument, concerning
such fees and charges throughout a lease lifecycle, from application to
move out. The Commission is soliciting such public comment to determine
the need for a rule to prevent persons, entities, and organizations
from engaging in unfair or deceptive practices in connection with
rental housing fees and charges, such as advertising rent that fails to
include all mandatory fees or charges, imposing fees and charges
without express informed consent, and misleading consumers about the
nature and purpose of fees or charges.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 13, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Members of the public may file a comment online or on paper
by following the instructions in the Comment Submissions part of the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Write ``Unfair or Deceptive
Rental Housing Fee Practices ANPRM, Project No. R207011'' on your
comment and file your comment online at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. If
you prefer to file your comment on paper, mail your comment to the
following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary,
600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Mail Stop H-144 (Annex R), Washington, DC
20580.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Annette Soberats, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#a0c1d3cfc2c5d2c1d4d3e0c6d4c38ec7cfd6"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="1c7d6f737e796e7d686f5c7a687f327b736a">[email protected]</span></a>,
202-326-2921; Karen Mandel, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#91fafcf0fff5f4fdd1f7e5f2bff6fee7"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="9af1f7fbf4fefff6dafceef9b4fdf5ec">[email protected]</span></a>, 202-326-2491; Edwin
Rodriguez, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#95f0e7faf1e7fcf2e0f0efd5f3e1f6bbf2fae3"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="4124332e2533282634243b012735226f262e37">[email protected]</span></a>, 202-326-3147, Attorneys, Division of
Advertising Practices.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Background Information
The Commission publishes this advance notice of proposed rulemaking
(``ANPRM'') pursuant to section 18 of the Federal Trade Commission Act
(``FTC Act''), 15 U.S.C. 57a, the provisions of part 1, subpart B, of
the Commission's Rules of Practice, 16 CFR 1.7-1.20, and 5 U.S.C. 553.
This authority permits the Commission to promulgate, modify, and repeal
rules that define with specificity acts or practices that are unfair or
deceptive in or affecting commerce within the meaning of section
5(a)(1) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 45(a)(1).
II. Objectives the Commission Seeks To Achieve and Possible Regulatory
Alternatives
A. Background
Consumers in the market today for rental housing, including renters
and prospective renters, must navigate a wide array of hidden or
misleading fees and charges that can appear at every stage of the
rental cycle--from application to move out. These fees and charges
obscure the total rent, causing renters to pay well above what is
advertised. For consumers of all ages--from young singles to families
to older adults--the gap between the advertised rent and the true total
rent, including all mandatory fees and charges, may be more than they
can afford.\1\ More than half of renters are ``cost-burdened, spending
at least 30% of their income on rent'' and, as a result, struggle to
afford other basic necessities.\2\ In 2023,
[[Page 12326]]
for example, consumers experienced ``the largest annual real increase
in rental costs since at least 2011.'' \3\
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\1\ See Allaire Conte, Rent Isn't What It Seems: The Hidden Fees
Driving Up Housing Costs and the States Taking Action (Sept. 23,
2025), <a href="https://www.realtor.com/advice/rent/hidden-rental-fees-state-laws/">https://www.realtor.com/advice/rent/hidden-rental-fees-state-laws/</a>.
\2\ See, e.g., E.O. 13878, 84 FR 30853 (June 25, 2019) (``In
2017, approximately 37 million renter and owner households spent
more than 30 percent of their incomes on housing, with more than 18
million spending more than half of their incomes on housing. Between
2001 and 2017, the number of renter households allocating more than
half of their incomes toward rent increased by nearly 45 percent.
These rising costs are leaving families with fewer resources for
necessities such as food, healthcare, clothing, education, and
transportation, negatively impacting their quality of life and
hindering their access to economic opportunity.''); Press Release,
U.S. Census Bureau, More Than 19 Million Renters Burdened by Housing
Costs (Dec. 8, 2022), <a href="https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2022/renters-burdened-by-housing-costs.html">https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2022/renters-burdened-by-housing-costs.html</a> (data from
2017-2021 period).
\3\ Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson, Concurring Statement of
Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson Regarding FTC v. Greystar Real Estate
Partners (Dec. 2, 2025) (quoting U.S. Census Bureau, Cost of Rent
and Utilities Rose Faster Than Home Values in 2023 (Sept. 12, 2024),
<a href="https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2024/09/acs-rent-burden.html">https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2024/09/acs-rent-burden.html</a>); see also Presidential Mem., Delivering Emergency Price
Relief for American Families and Defeating the Cost-of-Living Crisis
(Jan. 20, 2025) (``Hardworking families today are overwhelmed by the
cost of fuel, food, housing, automobiles, medical care, utilities,
and insurance.''), <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/delivering-emergency-price-relief-for-american-families-and-defeating-the-cost-of-living-crisis/">https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/delivering-emergency-price-relief-for-american-families-and-defeating-the-cost-of-living-crisis/</a>.
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Recent renter surveys and reports confirm the importance of price
transparency to renters.\4\ Unfortunately, consumers nationwide who are
searching for rental housing struggle to learn the true total rent of a
property. Rental property owners, rental property managers, and third-
party property management software providers, listing services, and
online rental platforms (together, ``rental housing providers'') often
advertise rents that fail to include all mandatory fees and charges.
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\4\ See, e.g., Zillow, Inc., Zillow's Commitment to Transparent
Rental Pricing for Renters and Housing Providers (Nov. 6, 2025),
<a href="https://www.zillowgroup.com/news/transparent-rental-pricing-for-renters-and-housing-providers/">https://www.zillowgroup.com/news/transparent-rental-pricing-for-renters-and-housing-providers/</a>; Zillow, Inc., Renters: Results from
the Zillow Consumer Housing Trends Report 2025 (Oct. 27, 2025),
<a href="https://www.zillow.com/research/renters-housing-trends-report-2025-35647/">https://www.zillow.com/research/renters-housing-trends-report-2025-35647/</a> (citing U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 American Community Survey);
<a href="http://Apartments.com">Apartments.com</a>, 2025 Data: Renters Want Transparent Pricing in
Rental Listings (Aug. 8, 2025), <a href="https://www.apartments.com/rental-manager/resources/listing/transparent-pricing">https://www.apartments.com/rental-manager/resources/listing/transparent-pricing</a>; SatisFacts, Biennial
Online Renter Study (Sept. 2025), <a href="https://www.satisfacts.com/researchfindings/biennial-online-renter-study-september-2025-release/">https://www.satisfacts.com/researchfindings/biennial-online-renter-study-september-2025-release/</a>.
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Consumers seek rental housing that is affordable and within their
budget.\5\ The failure to advertise the true total rent and to clearly
and conspicuously disclose fees or charges and their nature and purpose
impairs consumers' ability to comparison shop for rental housing and to
make informed financial decisions, increasing search costs.\6\ These
practices also may undermine competition in the rental housing market,
specifically, adversely impacting the incentives of rental housing
providers who do advertise the true total rent, which may impede the
market's ability to operate as efficiently as it otherwise would.\7\
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\5\ Zillow, Renters: Results from the Zillow Consumer Housing
Trends Report 2025, supra note 4 (finding that 94% of renters
surveyed deemed staying within their budget ``essential'').
\6\ See Howard Beales & Todd J. Zywicki, Junkyard Dogs: The Law
and Economics of ``Junk'' Fees (May 11, 2023) at 3-5, CPI Antitrust
Chronicle, April 2023, George Mason Law & Economics Research Paper
No. 23-10, <a href="https://ssrn.com/abstract=4446501">https://ssrn.com/abstract=4446501</a>.
\7\ Id.
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B. Description of the Area of Inquiry
According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2024 American Community
Survey, nearly 35% of households live in rented homes.\8\ Rental
housing providers often advertise rents that fail to include all
mandatory fees and charges. These mandatory fees and charges are
proliferating and go by many different names--lifestyle fees, amenity
fees, maintenance fees, common area maintenance fees, pest control
fees, parking fees, technology fees, smart home fees, trash collection
fees, repair fees, administrative fees, utilities-related fees, air
filter delivery fees, move-in fees, community fees, renters' insurance
fees, payment processing fees, convenience fees, January fees, roommate
fees, guest fees, high risk fees, mail sorting fees, fees to rent
month-to-month instead of on an annual basis--to name just a few.\9\
Indeed, a 2025 report found that more than 70% of renters reported
having to pay at least one mandatory fee or charge aside from the
monthly rent.\10\ Furthermore, the nature and purpose of some fees,
including processing, convenience, and administrative fees, are often
undisclosed or unclear to consumers.\11\
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\8\ U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 American Community Survey, Table
DP04, <a href="https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDP1Y2024.DP04?q=DP04">https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDP1Y2024.DP04?q=DP04</a>
(indicating that more than one hundred million people live in forty-
six million renter-occupied units; that the median rent paid for
these units, when paid, is $1,487; and that many renters pay a
significant portion of their income on total rent, including
mandatory fees and charges: 59% of renters pay more than 25% of
their income on total rent and 39% of renters pay more than 35% of
their income on total rent).
\9\ See, e.g., Susan Finch, What are Hidden Costs to Watch for
When Renting? (July 9, 2025), <a href="https://www.apartmentlist.com/renter-life/hidden-costs-of-renting">https://www.apartmentlist.com/renter-life/hidden-costs-of-renting</a>.
\10\ Zillow, Renters: Results from the Zillow Consumer Housing
Trends Report 2025, supra note 4 (citing U.S. Census Bureau, 2023
American Community Survey).
\11\ See, e.g., FTC and State of Colorado v. Greystar Real
Estate Partners, LLC, No. 25-cv-00165 (D. Colo. Stipulated Final
Order entered Dec. 12, 2025) (requiring rental housing provider to
clearly and conspicuously display total monthly rent and mandatory
fees to resolve allegations that it misrepresented the true total
rent by displaying a deceptively low rent that excluded several
mandatory recurring fees); see generally Zillow, Zillow's Commitment
to Transparent Rental Pricing for Renters and Housing Providers,
supra note 4; Finch, What are Hidden Costs to Watch for When
Renting, supra note 9.
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Often it is not until lease signing or the first bill that rental
housing providers disclose additional mandatory one-time or recurring
charges, further inflating the total cost of rental housing.\12\ Yet by
this time, consumers have likely already paid significant fees or
charges during the application process and potentially incurred other
unavoidable costs, such as investing significant time searching for
rental properties, paying moving-related expenses and ending a prior
lease. The overarching concern is that hidden and misleading fees
provide no competitive benefits to the market or consumers but instead
are designed to impede consumer choice and extract consumer surplus
from renters who have invested time and energy into shopping for a
rental property.\13\
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\12\ See, e.g., Greystar Real Estate Partners, No. 25-cv-00165;
see generally Zillow, Zillow's Commitment to Transparent Rental
Pricing for Renters and Housing Providers, supra note 4; Finch, What
are Hidden Costs to Watch for When Renting, supra note 9.
\13\ See Beales & Zywicki, supra note [6], at 3 (``disclosing
fees only on the back-end of a transaction or unnecessarily
unbundling prices into multiple parts might provide no consumer
benefit and instead might be designed to confuse consumers into
paying a higher price, to raise search costs to finding the best
deal, or to extract consumer surplus from consumers who have already
made an investment of time or energy into shopping'').
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Even before entering a lease, when applying for rental housing,
consumers often have to pay significant mandatory, non-refundable, one-
time fees and charges without a clear understanding of the true total
rent of the unit or property for which they are applying.\14\ Indeed,
multiple fees and charges--application fees, screening fees, approval
fees, credit reporting fees, and reservation or holding fees--can
apply. One source reports recent data indicating that the average
renter submits two applications, with the median application fee being
$50 per application.\15\ Another source indicates that, typically, each
renter older than 18 has to submit and pay a separate fee for their own
application.\16\
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\14\ See, e.g., Greystar Real Estate Partners, No. 25-cv-00165.
\15\ Zillow, Renters: Results from the Zillow Consumer Housing
Trends Report 2025, supra note 4 (citing U.S. Census Bureau, 2023
American Community Survey).
\16\ See, e.g., Zillow, Inc., How Much Are Application Fees
(Oct. 28, 2025), <a href="https://www.zillow.com/learn/how-much-are-apartment-application-fees/">https://www.zillow.com/learn/how-much-are-apartment-application-fees/</a>.
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In addition, security deposits are a significant charge many
renters are required to pay at the start of a lease. According to one
survey, 83% of renters pay a security deposit, with the median security
deposit reaching $795 in 2025.\17\ Yet, despite the substantial size
[[Page 12327]]
of this charge, many consumers do not know, in advance, the
circumstances in which their security deposits may not be refunded or
what charges could offset full reimbursement.\18\
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\17\ Zillow, Renters: Results from the Zillow Consumer Housing
Trends Report 2025, supra note 4 (citing U.S. Census Bureau, 2023
American Community Survey).
\18\ See, e.g., Zillow, Inc., What Are Security Deposits for
Apartments? (July 30, 2025) (cautioning renters to ask about
security deposit policies and confirm the details before signing a
lease), <a href="https://www.zillow.com/learn/what-are-security-deposits-for-apartments/">https://www.zillow.com/learn/what-are-security-deposits-for-apartments/</a>; Zillow, Inc., How to Get Your Security Deposit Back
(June 12, 2025) (reporting that, ``many renters anticipate getting
their security deposit back'' but ``only about 40% of renters get
their full deposit back, while nearly a quarter walk away empty-
handed'' and discussing myriad steps renters should take to ensure
their deposit is returned), <a href="https://www.zillow.com/learn/get-your-security-deposit-back/">https://www.zillow.com/learn/get-your-security-deposit-back/</a>.
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The Commission has taken several actions to identify and address
unfair or deceptive rental housing fee practices, including
research,\19\ consumer education,\20\ issuing warning letters,\21\
conducting investigations and bringing enforcement actions,\22\ and
creating an intra-agency Rental Housing Working Group and engaging in
public outreach on issues related to rental housing, including hidden
and misleading fees and charges.\23\
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\19\ See, e.g., Joint FTC-CFPB Tenant Screening Request for
Information, Docket ID FTC-2023-0024, <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/docket/FTC-2023-0024">https://www.regulations.gov/docket/FTC-2023-0024</a> (publishing more than 600 comments received in
response to a request for information on issues affecting renter
background screening, including requests related to application fee
costs and disclosures).
\20\ See, e.g., Fed. Trade Comm'n, Consumer Alert, Moving This
Summer? Watch for Rental Scams (Aug. 18, 2025), <a href="https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2025/08/moving-summer-watch-rental-scams">https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2025/08/moving-summer-watch-rental-scams</a>; Larissa Bungo, Fed. Trade Comm'n, Consumer Alert, FTC Says
Invitation Homes Was Anything But Inviting (Sept. 24, 2024), <a href="https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2024/09/ftc-says-invitation-homes-was-anything-inviting">https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2024/09/ftc-says-invitation-homes-was-anything-inviting</a>; Anna Burns, Fed. Trade Comm'n, Consumer
Alert, What Issues Do Renters Face (June 27, 2024), <a href="https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2024/06/what-issues-do-renters-face">https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2024/06/what-issues-do-renters-face</a>.
\21\ Press Release, Fed. Trade Comm'n, FTC Sends Warning Letters
to 13 Property Management Software Providers Nationwide (Dec. 9,
2025), <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2025/12/ftc-sends-warning-letters-13-property-management-software-providers-nationwide?utm_source=govdelivery">https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2025/12/ftc-sends-warning-letters-13-property-management-software-providers-nationwide?utm_source=govdelivery</a>.
\22\ See, e.g., FTC v. Invitation Homes Inc., No. 24-cv-04280
(N.D. Ga. Stipulated Final Order entered Sept. 27, 2024); Press
Release, Fed. Trade Comm'n, FTC Takes Action Against Invitation
Homes for Deceiving Renters (Sept. 24, 2024), <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/09/ftc-takes-action-against-invitation-homes-deceiving-renters-charging-junk-fees-withholding-security">https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/09/ftc-takes-action-against-invitation-homes-deceiving-renters-charging-junk-fees-withholding-security</a> (hereinafter, Invitation Homes Press Release); Greystar
Real Estate Partners, No. 25-cv-00165; Press Release, Fed. Trade
Comm'n, Greystar Agrees to Pay $24 Million and Stop Deceptive
Advertising Practices as a Result of FTC and Colorado Lawsuit
Alleging the Firm Deceived Consumers About Rent Prices (Dec. 2,
2025), <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2025/12/greystar-agrees-pay-24-million-stop-deceptive-advertising-practices-result-ftc-colorado-lawsuit">https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2025/12/greystar-agrees-pay-24-million-stop-deceptive-advertising-practices-result-ftc-colorado-lawsuit</a> (hereinafter, Greystar Press Release).
\23\ Invitation Homes Press Release, supra note 20 (``Earlier
this year, the FTC formed an agency-wide Renters Working Group to
examine unfair, deceptive, and anticompetitive practices affecting
renters. The Commission is holding listening sessions to hear
directly from renters. . . .'').
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Unfair and deceptive rental housing fee practices violate Federal
law. As discussed below, the Commission has filed cases against certain
rental housing providers for unfair and deceptive fee practices under
the Commission's general authority to take action against unfair or
deceptive acts or practices in commerce under section 5 of the FTC Act,
15 U.S.C. 45(a), (n), as well as its more specific authority under the
Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, 15 U.S.C. 6821(a)(2), which makes it illegal to
use false, fraudulent, or fictitious statements or representations to
obtain, attempt to obtain, cause the disclosure of, or attempt to cause
the disclosure of customer information of a financial institution.
Violations of the FTC Act and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act may be subject
to legal action and Federal district court injunctions. In addition,
companies or individuals that violate the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act may be
subject to civil penalties of up to $[53,088] per violation pursuant to
section 5(m)(1)(A) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 45(m)(1)(A), and may be
required to pay refunds to consumers or provide other relief pursuant
to section 19(a)(1), 15 U.S.C. 57b(a)(1).
The Commission filed two cases in the past two years challenging
unfair and deceptive fee practices by nationwide rental housing
providers. In FTC v. Invitation Homes Inc., No. 24-cv-04280 (N.D. Ga.
Stipulated Final Order entered Sept. 27, 2024), the Commission alleged
that Invitation Homes, the largest single family home rental housing
provider in the country, violated section 5 of the FTC Act by, among
other things, excluding mandatory monthly fees from the advertised
rent, failing to disclose all mandatory monthly fees consumers must pay
to rent a home, and misrepresenting and unfairly withholding deductions
from security deposits. The Commission further alleged that Invitation
Homes violated the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act by falsely representing the
price of a rental home and thereby obtaining or attempting to obtain
customer information of a financial institution. Invitation Homes was
ordered to change its fee practices to advertise the total rent
including all mandatory fees, clearly and conspicuously disclose
certain information about all fees, stop unfairly withholding security
deposit deductions, and pay $48 million in consumer redress.
In FTC and State of Colorado v. Greystar Real Estate Partners, LLC,
No. 25-cv-00165 (D. Colo. Stipulated Final Order entered Dec. 12,
2025), the Commission alleged that Greystar, the largest residential
rental property owner and manager in the United States, violated
section 5 of the FTC Act by misrepresenting the true cost of renting a
property and by excluding mandatory, fixed fees from the advertised
rent. The Commission further alleged that Greystar violated the Gramm-
Leach-Bliley Act by using these false representations to induce
consumers to provide their credit card or bank account information to
pay nonrefundable application fees, thereby causing the disclosure of
customer information of financial institutions. Co-plaintiff the State
of Colorado made additional allegations under state law. Greystar was
ordered to change its fee practices to most prominently advertise the
total rent including all mandatory fees, clearly and conspicuously make
certain disclosures about all fees, stop misrepresenting the rent and
other fees, and pay $23 million in consumer redress and $1 million to
the State of Colorado for costs and fees.
In addition, several states have passed laws and taken enforcement
action to curb unfair or deceptive rental fee practices. For example,
several states have enacted, or are in the process of enacting,
statutes specifically to prohibit, to varying extents, practices such
as advertising the price of a rental property without displaying most
prominently a single total rent or imposing certain mandatory,
undisclosed, or deceptive rental fees; some also may require rental
housing providers to provide certain disclosures about rental fees or
charges.\24\ In addition, some states have enacted, or are in the
process of enacting, statutes that generally prohibit unfair or
[[Page 12328]]
deceptive pricing practices, such as advertising a price for goods and
services that does not include all mandatory fees and charges.\25\ Such
statutes could also be used to challenge unfair or deceptive rental fee
practices. However, even those state laws that do exist only address
some aspects of the many unfair or deceptive rental fee practices that
harm renters across the country.
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\24\ H.B. 25-1090, 2025 Reg. Sess. (Colo. 2025); S.B. No. 3,
Pub. Act No. 25-44 (Conn. 2025); S.B. 251, 2025-2026 Reg. Sess. (Ga.
2025); S.B. 1039, 67th Leg., 1st Reg. Sess. (Idaho 2023), Idaho
Codes and Stat. sec. 55-314 (2024); S.B. 1964, 104th Gen. Assemb.
(Ill. 2025); L.D. 1490, 131st Leg. (Me. 2024), Me. Rev. Stat. sec.
6030-J (2024); H.B. 1257, 2025 Leg., Reg. Sess. (Md. 2025)
(engrossed); S.B. 984, 194th Gen. Ct. (Mass. 2025); S.B. 375, 103rd
Leg., Reg. Sess. (Mich. 2025); Minn. Stat. sec. 504B.120 (2025);
L.B. 17, 109th Leg., 1st Sess. (Neb. 2025); A.B. 121, 83rd Leg.
(Nev. 2025); H.B. 283, 2024 Reg. Sess. (N.H. 2024); S.B. 267, 2025
Reg. Sess. (N.M. 2025); S.B. 430, 2025 Reg. Sess. (Or. 2025); S.B.
2643, 2024 Reg. Sess. (R.I. 2024); H.B. 4305, 89th Leg. (Tex. 2025-
2026); H.B. 68, 2021 Gen. Sess. (Utah 2021); S.B. 91, 2025-2026 Reg.
Sess. (Vt. 2025); H.B. 2430, 2025 Reg. Sess. (Va. 2025).
\25\ See, e.g., S.B. 180, 33rd Leg., Reg. Sess. (Alaska 2023-
2024); S.B. 478, 2023 Reg. Sess. (Cal. 2023), Cal. Civ. Code sec.
1770(a); 940 C.M.R. sec. 38.00 (Mass. Att'y Gen. Off.); H.F. 3438,
93rd Leg., Reg. Sess. (Minn. 2024), Minn. Stat. sec. 325D.44 (2025);
S.B. 363, 2025-2026 Gen. Assemb. (N.Y. 2025); S.B. 986, 2025 Reg.
Sess. (Okla. 2025) (in committee); S.B. 430, 2025 Reg. Sess. (Or.
2025).
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Numerous states have also filed legal actions challenging rental
fee practices under state law.\26\ In some instances, renters have also
sought to challenge unfair or deceptive rental fee practices through
private legal actions.\27\ Similar to the State laws addressed above,
however, such legal actions only address some aspects of the harmful
fee practices in the rental industry.
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\26\ See, e.g., Commonwealth v. Creshem Valley Realty Co., No.
230701198 (Pa. Com. Pl., Compl. filed July 13, 2023), <a href="https://www.attorneygeneral.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/230713-SBG-CIE-packet.pdf">https://www.attorneygeneral.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/230713-SBG-CIE-packet.pdf</a>; State v. Populum Real Estate Holdings, LLC, No.
2024CV30023 (Colo. Dist. Ct., Stip. Final Consent J. filed Jan. 8,
2024), <a href="https://coag.gov/app/uploads/2024/01/2024-01-08-16-17-07-Four-Star-Final-Consent-Judgment.pdf">https://coag.gov/app/uploads/2024/01/2024-01-08-16-17-07-Four-Star-Final-Consent-Judgment.pdf</a>; Office of the Attorney General
v. 786 Property Management, Inc. (Assurance of Discontinuance
announced Aug. 31, 2023), <a href="https://oag.maryland.gov/News/Documents/2023/083123a.pdf">https://oag.maryland.gov/News/Documents/2023/083123a.pdf</a>; State v. Berrada Props. Mgmt. Inc., No.
2023AP1031-LV (Consent J. entered Dec. 18, 2024), <a href="https://www.wisdoj.gov/PressReleases/2.20.25_Berrada_Update.pdf">https://www.wisdoj.gov/PressReleases/2.20.25_Berrada_Update.pdf</a>; City of
Cincinnati v. VineBrook Homes, LLC, (Compl. filed Jan. 18, 2023),
<a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/620563275/Cincinnati-vs-VineBrook-Complaint">https://www.scribd.com/document/620563275/Cincinnati-vs-VineBrook-Complaint</a>).
\27\ See, e.g., Horton v. Bernstein Mgmt. Corp., No. 2025-CAB-
004502 (DC Super. Ct. filed July 11, 2025) (challenging under
District of Columbia law the advertising of total applicable rent
that did not include a mandatory air conditioning fee); Valencia
Rios v. Belvedere NRDE, LLC, No. 25-cv-474 (E.D. Va. filed June 23,
2025) (challenging under state law the imposition of mandatory pest
and common area fees on renters for maintenance that is the legal
responsibility of the rental housing providers); Hall v. Camden
Development, Inc., No. 16-cv-24-005335 (Prince George's Cty. Md.
Cir. Ct. filed Nov. 11, 2024, removed Feb. 5, 2025 to D. Md., No.
25-cv-366, remanded Oct. 17, 2025 to Prince George's Cty. Md. Cir.
Ct.) (challenging under state law the imposition of undisclosed or
misleading mandatory community, technology, and online service fees
plus use of a ratio utility billing system).
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In addition, commenters to the Commission's earlier Unfair or
Deceptive Fees Rulemaking described the prevalence of many potentially
unfair or deceptive rental housing fee practices. Individuals, national
and local consumer interest groups, legal services entities, and
elected officials highlighted the prevalence of hidden and misleading
rental fees that inflate the cost of rental housing beyond what is
advertised and problematic practices concerning fees imposed during the
application process and throughout the term of a lease.\28\
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\28\ Publicly posted comments are available to view through
<a href="http://Regulations.gov">Regulations.gov</a> under Docket ID FTC-2022-0069 at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/docket/FTC-2022-0069/comments">https://www.regulations.gov/docket/FTC-2022-0069/comments</a> (hereinafter, Fees
Rule Comments); see also, e.g., Statement of Basis and Purpose, Rule
on Unfair or Deceptive Fees, 90 FR 2066, 2074-2076, 2087-2088, 2102-
2103 (Jan. 10, 2025), <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/01/10/2024-30293/trade-regulation-rule-on-unfair-or-deceptive-fees">https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/01/10/2024-30293/trade-regulation-rule-on-unfair-or-deceptive-fees</a>.
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Concerns raised by commenters include: (a) the lack of pricing
transparency; (b) fees and charges that may exceed the cost of a good
or service to the rental housing provider, pay for goods or services
not ultimately provided, or represent charges for goods or services
that the rental housing provider already is legally obligated to
provide (e.g., pest fees, fees to maintain the furnace to provide heat,
security deposit deductions for normal wear and tear or preexisting
damage) or that consumers would expect to be included in the rent; and
(c) fee practices that inhibit consumer choice by requiring renters to
use a certain service provider.\29\
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\29\ Fees Rule Comments; see also, e.g., Statement of Basis and
Purpose, Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees, 90 FR at 2074-2076, 2087-
2088, 2102-2103.
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Rental housing providers and their representatives, including local
and national housing groups and associations, commented that advertised
rents are often only ``base'' rents to which other fees and charges are
later added, because many rental fees are conditional or usage-based
and, therefore, are unknown upfront.\30\ They observed that the rental
relationship is ongoing and that fees are disclosed in the rental lease
and throughout the lifecycle of the lease term as new circumstances
arise.\31\ They also argued that regulation at the Federal level is
unnecessary given existing State and local laws.\32\
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\30\ Fees Rule Comments; see also, e.g., Statement of Basis and
Purpose, Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees, 90 FR at 2070-2071.
\31\ Fees Rule Comments; see also, e.g., Statement of Basis and
Purpose, Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees, 90 FR at 2093.
\32\ Fees Rule Comments; see also, e.g., Statement of Basis and
Purpose, Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees, 90 FR at 2106.
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In the Unfair or Deceptive Fees Rulemaking, the Commission
determined, in its discretion, to proceed incrementally and not include
rental housing as part of that rulemaking.\33\ Based on the relevant
information discussed above, the Commission's current view is that
unfair and deceptive rental fee practices like those challenged in
Invitation Homes and Greystar, those that have been the subject of
State legislation and law enforcement and individual lawsuits, and
others identified by commenters to the Unfair or Deceptive Fees
Rulemaking and in recent renter surveys and reports, appear to be
prevalent and may require additional Commission action. As Chairman
Ferguson underscored in his Concurring Statement regarding Greystar:
``the Commission's work on this case has revealed that the problem
involving misleading pricing representations in America's rental
markets is not limited to Greystar, and today's order will not fully
resolve this problem.'' \34\
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\33\ See, e.g., Statement of Basis and Purpose, Rule on Unfair
or Deceptive Fees, 90 FR at 2089, 2119.
\34\ See Concurring Statement of Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson
Regarding FTC v. Greystar Real Estate Partners, supra note 3.
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C. Objectives and Regulatory Alternatives
The Commission believes a rule addressing unfair or deceptive
rental housing fee practices could help reduce the level of unlawful
activity in this area, serving as a deterrent against these practices
because such a rule would allow for civil penalties to be sought
against violators.\35\ It also would enable the Commission to more
readily obtain redress for consumers through section 19(a)(1) of the
FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 57b(a)(1).
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\35\ See 15 U.S.C. 45(m)(1)(A).
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Although the Commission has brought cases that challenge rental
housing fee practices under section 5 of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 45, and
other statutes, its current remedial authority is limited. The U.S.
Supreme Court held equitable monetary relief, including consumer
redress, is unavailable under section 13(b) of the FTC Act.\36\
Consumer redress under section 19(a)(2), 15 U.S.C. 57b(a)(2), is
limited and challenging to obtain, significantly diminishing the
Commission's ability to provide timely relief to injured consumers in
this critical area. Moreover, to the extent that these practices are
prevalent, unlawful pricing practices and an unfair playing field
persist despite the Commission's actions to date--case-by-case
enforcement,
[[Page 12329]]
warning letters, public outreach, and consumer education.
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\36\ See AMG Cap. Mgmt., LLC v. FTC, 141 S. Ct. 1341, 1352
(2021). See generally Fed. Trade Comm'n, Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking: Trade Regulation Rule on Impersonation of Government and
Businesses, 87 FR 62741 (Oct. 17, 2022) (describing in greater
detail the Commission's perspective that promulgating new rules can
be worth the cost because of the benefit in providing consumer
redress when lawbreakers violate not only section 5 of the FTC Act
but also a specific rule promulgated under section 18 or treated as
such).
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The Commission requests input on whether and how it should use its
authority under section 18 of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 57a, to address
unfair or deceptive acts or practices involving rental housing fees and
charges. Specifically, to assist the Commission in deciding whether it
should engage in rulemaking and what the coverage of any such rule
should be, the Commission seeks public comment about the rental housing
fee practices discussed in Section II.B and any other potentially
unfair or deceptive rental fee practices. These practices include: (a)
failing to disclose clearly and conspicuously or misrepresenting the
total rent for a unit or property, the existence of any fees or charges
that are mandatory or not reasonably avoidable for a unit or property,
or the nature and purpose of any fee or charge, including that the
amount exceeds the cost of a good or service or pays for services not
ultimately provided; (b) failing to disclose clearly and conspicuously
or misrepresenting whether fees, charges, goods, or services are
mandatory or optional, or any material restriction, limitation, or
condition that may result in a mandatory fee or charge or that may
diminish a consumer's use of a rental unit or property; (c)
misrepresenting that a consumer owes payments for any fees or charges
that a consumer did not agree to incur; (d) billing consumers fees or
charges, or for goods or services, without express, informed consent,
or that rental housing providers are legally obligated to provide, or
that consumers would reasonably believe to be included in the total
rent; and (e) inhibiting consumer choice including by requiring renters
and prospective renters to use a certain service provider.
The Commission seeks comment on, among other things, the prevalence
of each of the above practices, the costs and benefits of a rule that
would require the clear and conspicuous disclosure of the total rent
including all mandatory fees and charges whenever consumers are quoted
a price for a rental unit or property, and other potential rule
requirements to curtail unfair or deceptive rental housing fee
practices. The Commission also seeks comment on alternatives to or
additional actions to supplement such a rulemaking, such as publishing
additional consumer and business education materials and hosting public
workshops. In their replies, commenters should provide any available
evidence and data that support their position, such as empirical data,
consumer-perception studies, and consumer complaints.
D. The Rulemaking Process
The Commission seeks the broadest participation from the public in
response to this ANPRM. The Commission encourages all members of the
public to submit written comments. After reviewing responsive comments,
the Commission may proceed with further steps outlined in section 18 of
the FTC Act and Part 1, Subpart B, of the Commission's Rules of
Practice.
III. Request for Comments
Members of the public are invited to comment on any issues or
concerns they believe are relevant to the Commission's consideration of
the proposed rulemaking. In addition to the issues raised above, the
Commission solicits public comment on the specific questions identified
below. These questions are designed to assist the public and should not
be construed as a limitation on the issues on which public comment may
be submitted. For all questions, the Commission seeks commenters'
views, arguments, experiences, and the qualitative and quantitative
data, evidence, and analyses that support or inform their answers.\37\
The Commission requests that commenters be specific, explain their
reasoning, and submit all factual data, evidence, and analyses such as
the empirical data upon which the comments are based. For questions
that ask about potential rule requirements (for example, Questions 55-
74), the Commission requests that commenters discuss how any such
changes differ from current practices, how such requirements would
benefit consumers, including data, evidence, and analyses on both
monetary and non-monetary benefits, and what such requirements would
cost rental housing providers, including data, evidence, and analyses
on capital and labor costs, and how such costs vary with the size and
type of the property owners. The Commission must receive comments on or
before April 13, 2026.
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\37\ See Fed. Trade Comm'n, Public Participation in the
Rulemaking Process, <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/rulemaking/public-participation-rulemaking-process">https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/rulemaking/public-participation-rulemaking-process</a>. Commenters who filed
comments on other rulemaking dockets that address related issues,
such as the notice of proposed rulemaking concerning a Trade
Regulation Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees, 88 FR 77420 (Nov. 9,
2023), and who want to ensure their comments are considered in
response to this ANPRM should update them, as commenters think
appropriate, and re-file them on this rulemaking docket on
<a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>.
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Questions About the Rental Housing Industry and Rental Fees and Charges
1. What is the type and role of each person, entity, or
organization involved in advertising and providing rental housing,
billing and collecting rent, and imposing any other fee or charge on
renters and prospective renters, including, but not limited to, rental
housing providers (previously defined in Section II.A as rental
property owners, rental property managers, and third-party property
management software providers, listing services, and online rental
platforms)?
2. How do rental housing providers determine the advertised rent?
What is included in, and excluded from, the advertised rent?
3. What is a ``base'' rent? What is included in, and excluded from,
a ``base'' rent?
4. What percentage of the rental housing market advertises a
monthly rent versus rent based on another time period?
a. What other time periods are advertised?
5. What percentage of the rental housing market advertises a rent
that does not include all mandatory fees and charges?
a. What factors contribute to the use of such advertised rents?
b. What rental housing property types most often use such
advertised rents?
6. What percentage of the rental housing market advertises a total
rent that includes all mandatory fees and charges?
a. What factors contribute to the use of such total rent in
advertising?
b. What rental housing property types most often advertise a total
rent?
7. Historically, what changes have occurred with respect to
including or excluding different types of mandatory fees and charges
from advertised rents?
a. When did advertised rents start to itemize or unbundle each
different type of mandatory fee or charge?
8. How widespread is the practice of failing to disclose clearly
and conspicuously in any offer, display, or advertisement for rental
housing the total rent including all mandatory fees and charges?
a. How widespread is the practice of failing to include mandatory
recurring fees and charges in advertised rent?
b. How widespread is the practice of failing to include mandatory
one-time fees and charges in advertised rent?
9. How common is it for rental housing providers to advertise the
total rent including all mandatory fees and charges more prominently
than any other pricing information?
10. How widespread is the practice of failing to disclose clearly
and conspicuously fees and charges that have been excluded from
advertised rent before renters or prospective renters consent to pay
for rental housing?
[[Page 12330]]
a. How widespread is the practice of failing to disclose the
nature, purpose, and amount of any such fee or charge?
b. How widespread is the practice of failing to disclose the
identity of the good or service for which such fee or charge is
imposed?
11. How widespread is the practice of misrepresenting in any offer,
display, or advertisement for rental housing any fee or charge,
including: the nature, purpose, amount, or refundability of any fee or
charge; and the identity of the good or service for which the fee or
charge is imposed?
12. How widespread is the practice of misrepresenting mandatory
fees or charges as optional and vice versa?
a. How widespread is the practice of misrepresenting that fees or
charges are imposed by a government entity?
13. What mandatory fees or charges do renters or prospective
renters incur?
a. What percentage of total rent do these fees or charges reflect?
14. What optional fees or charges do renters or prospective renters
incur?
a. What percentage of total rent do these fees or charges reflect?
15. In addition to a rental housing unit or property, what goods or
services do rental housing providers provide to renters or prospective
renters?
a. For which of these goods or services do rental housing providers
impose a mandatory fee or charge as a condition for obtaining or
occupying rental housing?
16. In addition to a rental housing unit or property, what goods or
services do third parties provide to renters or prospective renters and
do rental housing providers collect payment for these goods and
services?
a. For which of these goods or services do rental housing providers
impose a mandatory fee or charge as a condition for obtaining or
occupying rental housing?
17. For what durations of time do renters occupy units and what
fees do they end up paying for the duration of their residency? Please
provide any data at a detailed level, such as a residential unit or
property, including renter tenure and rent and any other fee payments.
For example, this could include evidence, data, or analyses related to:
a. Lease term duration (for example, 12 months), advertised rent,
and payments.
b. List of all recurring fees that are excluded from advertised
rent, their nature, purpose, amount, refundability, and when and how
such fees are disclosed, and actual payments received and refunds
issued.
c. List of all one-time fees or charges that are excluded from
advertised rent, when they are imposed (for example, before or after
move-in, during or at the beginning or end of a lease term, or at or
after move-out), their nature, purpose, amount, refundability, and when
and how such fees are disclosed, and actual payments received and
refunds issued.
d. Lease renewals, early terminations, evictions, and lease-
breaking penalties.
18. How widespread is the practice of imposing fees or charges for
goods or services that consumers would reasonably believe to be
included in the advertised rent?
a. What fees and charges would consumers reasonably believe are
included in the advertised rent?
19. Is there any material difference between the terms
``mandatory,'' ``required,'' ``unavoidable,'' and ``not reasonably
avoidable'' as used in the rental housing industry?
a. Are there any other terms used in the rental housing industry
that convey that a fee, charge, good, or service is mandatory or
otherwise unavoidable?
20. How widespread is the practice of advertising a rent and
failing to disclose clearly and conspicuously or misrepresenting any
material restriction, limitation, or condition that may prevent renters
from obtaining housing at the advertised rent?
a. How and to what extent are such material restrictions,
limitations, or conditions undisclosed or misrepresented?
21. What impediments, if any, exist that impact the ability of
rental housing property owners and managers to advertise the total rent
in their own advertising and in advertising involving third-party
service providers, such as property management software providers,
listing services, and online rental platforms?
22. What roles do third-party service providers, such as property
management software providers, listing services, and online rental
platforms, play in the advertising of rental housing pricing
information, including total rent?
a. How common is it for rental housing property owners and managers
to use each such third-party service provider?
b. How do rental housing property owners and managers use each such
third-party service provider?
c. How do rental housing property owners and managers transmit
rental pricing information to each such third-party service provider?
d. How and to what extent does the technology used by such third-
party service providers limit the ability of rental property owners and
managers to accurately advertise total rent or other pricing
information, including all fees and charges?
e. How common is it for such third-party service providers to limit
the ability of rental property owners and managers to accurately
advertise the total rent and other rental pricing information,
including all fees and charges?
23. What is the state of the technology to facilitate advertising
that lists the total rent including all mandatory fees and charges?
a. What technological changes could be made to facilitate or
automate advertising total rent?
b. What challenges, obstacles, or technological barriers do third-
party service providers, such as property management software
providers, listing services, and online rental platforms, face in
obtaining and displaying pricing information from property owners or
managers, including the total rent and all mandatory and optional fees
or charges and their nature and purpose?
c. What is the state of the technology in allowing consumers to
search for and sort rental housing by total rent?
24. What mandatory fees or charges imposed by rental housing
providers are contingent on renter choice, behavior, or circumstances
and which are tied to the property and not to renter choice, behavior,
or circumstances?
25. What mandatory fees or charges imposed by rental housing
providers truly cannot be known, calculated, or estimated at the time
that rental housing is advertised or at the entry of a lease?
26. What mandatory fees or charges imposed by rental housing
providers can be calculated or estimated using historical data such as
annual budget reconciliations, from objective measures such as a pro-
rata share, or otherwise calculated or estimated for planning purposes?
27. For rental housing providers that charge or collect payment for
utilities, is it feasible to include actual or estimated utility
expenses in the total rent, including where utilities are subject to a
ratio utility billing system (``RUBS'')?
28. How do rental housing providers calculate monthly utility
charges, including where utilities are subject to a RUBS?
29. How common is it for rental housing providers to impose a fee
or charge on renters for preparing, providing, or processing utility
bills?
30. What one-time fees or charges must renters and prospective
renters pay to obtain rental housing?
a. How widespread is the practice of imposing these one-time
charges?
31. How widespread is the practice of imposing application,
holding, and
[[Page 12331]]
reservation fees or charges to obtain rental housing?
32. What are the average amounts of application, holding, and
reservation fees or charges?
33. What are the costs of evaluating applications and how much do
they vary across rental housing providers?
34. Are application, holding, and reservation fees or charges most
commonly refundable, non-refundable, or credited to rent?
35. Are application, holding, and reservation fees or charges
charged to all prospective renters or only those who have a viable
chance of securing the unit or property in question?
a. How common is it for rental housing providers to impose such
fees or charges and not fully process applications?
b. How common is it for rental housing providers to impose such
fees or charges for a unit or property that already has been reserved
by another renter?
c. How common is it for rental housing providers to impose such
fees or charges on multiple prospective renters at the same time for
the same unit or property?
36. What criteria do rental housing providers use to determine the
refundability of a security deposit?
a. When and how are such criteria communicated to renters and
prospective renters?
37. What happens to one-time fees and charges such as application
fees and security deposits when renters' or prospective renters'
applications are accepted or rejected? Please provide any data at a
detailed level, such as a residential unit or property, including
tenant application behavior, or any analysis of such data. For example,
this could include evidence, data, or analyses related to:
a. Renters or prospective renters who paid an application fee,
signed a lease, had their application denied, or did not ultimately
rent the unit, including the number and amount of these payments.
b. Renters or prospective renters who paid a holding fee or
deposit, the amount, and whether it was refunded or applied to rent, to
a security deposit, or to another fee or charge, including the number
and amount of these payments.
c. Renters or prospective renters who paid an application fee and
holding fee or deposit, but the unit was unavailable, including the
number and amount of these payments.
d. Renters or prospective renters who received a refund of any fees
paid, including the number of renters or prospective renters and amount
of the refund.
38. How widespread is the practice of failing to disclose clearly
and conspicuously or misrepresenting fees or charges imposed in
connection with terminating a rental housing lease or contract?
a. How and to what extent are those fees or charges undisclosed or
misrepresented?
39. Under what circumstances or criteria are fees or charges
refundable to renters and potential renters?
40. When and how do rental housing providers disclose mandatory
fees or charges (including application, holding, and reservation fees,
and security deposits) and their nature and purpose, to renters and
prospective renters?
a. When and how do renters and prospective renters expect rental
housing providers to disclose these fees and charges?
41. When and how do rental housing providers disclose government
fees or charges, including taxes, that they pass through to renters and
prospective renters?
42. When and how do rental housing providers disclose penalties or
other fees or charges imposed on renters for late payment or for
terminating a lease early?
43. How common is it for rental housing providers to use a cover
sheet or the first page of the application or lease to list all fees
and charges applicable to the renter (including mandatory, optional,
variable, contingent fees or charges, and their nature, purpose,
amount, and refundability), the total rent, and the total move-in cost?
a. How common is it for rental housing providers to use addenda to
disclose such fees and charges, including their nature, purpose,
amount, and refundability?
44. What requirements do rental housing providers impose on renters
relating to payment method?
a. How common is it for rental housing providers to require renters
to use a specific payment method or platform that incurs a mandatory
fee?
b. How common is it for rental housing providers to provide free
payment alternatives and what challenges, obstacles, or technological
barriers may renters face in using them?
45. How common is it for rental housing providers to initially make
a fee or charge optional (including whether the fee or charge is opt in
or opt out), and later make it mandatory?
a. When and how is such a change disclosed to renters?
b. How quickly does the change take effect?
c. Is the change imposed on renters in the middle of a lease cycle
or when a lease renews?
46. How common is it for rental housing providers to impose
mandatory fees or charges after a renter enters a lease?
a. When and how are these changes disclosed to renters?
b. How quickly do such changes take effect?
c. Are these changes imposed on renters in the middle of lease
cycles or when a lease renews?
47. How widespread is the practice of imposing fees or charges or
billing for goods or services without the renter's express, informed
consent?
a. To what extent are third parties engaging in such practices?
48. How widespread is the practice of requiring renters to use
service providers (e.g., cable/internet, plumbers, technicians)
designated by the rental housing providers? How does this practice
impact consumers' ability to receive such services at competitive rates
and how does this practice impact competition among service providers?
49. How widespread is the practice of requiring renters to pay for
services they do not use (e.g., requiring renters to pay for a cable TV
package)?
50. For each of the potentially unfair or deceptive practices
described in Section II, does the practice harm consumers or
competition?
a. If so, how does the practice harm consumers or competition?
51. For each of the potentially unfair or deceptive practices
described in Section II, are there circumstances in which such
practices would not be unfair or deceptive?
a. If so, what are those circumstances?
52. How widespread are the potentially unfair or deceptive
practices described in Section II within geographic markets?
a. Are there competition effects such that the use of such
practices by one or more rental housing providers leads to the
proliferation of such practices by other rental housing providers?
b. Are rental housing providers using such practices as a way to
appear cheaper relative to competitors?
53. How has the Commission's Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees \38\
(16 CFR part 464) impacted the markets for live-event ticketing and
short-term lodging, including, but not limited to:
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\38\ 90 FR 2066.
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a. What benefits and costs have arisen?
b. Has consumer search time changed?
[[Page 12332]]
c. Have market prices and quantities shifted as a result of total
price disclosures?
d. What costs have firms borne to satisfy the rule's disclosure
requirements?
Please provide evidence, data, and analyses on both monetary and
non-monetary benefits and costs.
54. How would the Commission's earlier proposal of an economy-wide
rule on unfair and deceptive fees \39\ have impacted relevant markets,
including, but not limited to:
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\39\ See Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Trade Regulation Rule on
Unfair or Deceptive Fees, 88 FR 77420 (Nov. 9, 2023), <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/11/09/2023-24234/trade-regulation-rule-on-unfair-or-deceptive-fees">https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/11/09/2023-24234/trade-regulation-rule-on-unfair-or-deceptive-fees</a>.
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a. Have benefit-cost analyses been performed on the proposed total
price disclosures either across the economy or with a specific focus on
the rental housing market?
b. Would consumer search time change?
c. Would market prices and quantities shift as a result of the
proposed total price disclosures?
d. What costs would firms bear to satisfy the proposed disclosure
requirements?
Please provide evidence, data, and analyses on both monetary and
non-monetary benefits and costs.
Questions About Potential Rule Provisions and Other Potential
Commission Action
55. Is there a need for new rule provisions to prevent the
potentially unfair or deceptive practices described in Section II?
a. If so, should the Commission issue a new rule and add a new part
to 16 CFR chapter 1, subchapter D, or should the Commission amend the
Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees (16 CFR part 464)?
b. How should each provision of the Rule on Unfair or Deceptive
Fees (16 CFR part 464) be amended, if necessary, to apply to rental
housing fees and charges?
56. How should such a rule be crafted to maximize the benefits to
consumers and to minimize the costs to businesses, including small
businesses?
57. What terms would such a rule need to define (for example,
rental housing or rental housing providers) and how should such a rule
define those terms?
58. Should such a rule prohibit rental housing providers from
offering, displaying, or advertising any price of rental housing
without clearly and conspicuously disclosing total rent that includes
all mandatory fees and charges?
a. Should such a rule require total rent to include all mandatory
recurring fees and charges (for example, mandatory administration fees,
common area maintenance fees, estimated utilities, or parking)?
b. Should such a rule require total rent to include all mandatory
one-time fees and charges (for example, mandatory application, holding,
reservation, and administration fees, move-in costs, and security
deposits)?
i. If so, how could total rent be calculated to include all
mandatory one-time fees and charges--could it be by amortizing,
prorating, or another method?
ii. If not, should such a rule require such mandatory one-time fees
and charges be calculated and disclosed in advertising as a total first
month's rent or total move-in cost, or should another term be used?
59. Should such a rule require rental housing providers, in any
offer, display, or advertisement that represents any price of rental
housing, to disclose the total rent including all mandatory fees and
charges more prominently than any other pricing information?
60. Should such a rule prohibit rental housing providers from
failing to disclose clearly and conspicuously, before consumers consent
to pay for rental housing, the nature, purpose, and amount of any fee
or charge that they have excluded from advertised rent and the identity
of the good or service for which the fee or charge is imposed?
61. Should such a rule prohibit rental housing providers, in any
offer, display, or advertisement for rental housing, from
misrepresenting any fee or charge, including: the nature, purpose,
amount, or refundability of any fee or charge; and the identity of the
good or service for which the fee or charge is imposed?
62. Should such a rule require total rent to include government-
imposed fees and charges, including taxes?
63. Should such a rule require rental housing providers to
calculate or estimate contingent or variable fees or charges?
a. Should such a rule require rental housing providers to include
such fees and charges in total rent?
i. If not, should such a rule require rental housing providers to
disclose such fees or charges in advertising or before a renter or
prospective renter consents to pay any fee or charge, including an
application, holding, or reservation fee?
b. Should such a rule require rental housing providers to disclose
contingent or variable fees or charges imposed by third parties for
which rental housing providers collect payment?
i. When and how should such fees and charges be disclosed?
64. Should such a rule require rental housing providers to itemize
all fees and charges?
a. When and how should a rule require such itemizations?
b. In such itemizations, should such a rule require rental housing
providers to explain the nature and purpose of each fee or charge?
65. Should such a rule require fees or charges to accurately
reflect the actual cost?
66. Should such a rule require all mandatory fees, charges, goods,
and services for rental housing to be disclosed before any application
and holding or reservation fees or charges are imposed?
a. When and how should they be disclosed?
67. Should such a rule require all applicable fees, charges, goods,
and services to be disclosed in the lease?
a. When and how should they be disclosed?
68. Should such a rule prohibit rental housing providers from
withholding security deposit money for damages that are part of normal
wear and tear or not related to damage caused by the renter (for
example, to fix issues that were present before the renter moved in, or
to cover the cost of maintenance, repairs, capital improvements)?
a. How would such a prohibition impact current practices and what
costs would it impose on rental housing providers?
b. Should such a rule require that any security deposit money paid
by renters and prospective renters be used only for unpaid rent or to
repair or correct damage in excess of normal wear and tear caused by
the renter for which it was withheld?
c. Should such a rule require rental housing providers to have
adequate documentation to support that the damage was caused by the
renter, the amounts charged to the renter, and the actual costs
incurred by the rental housing provider to repair the damage?
69. Should such a rule require that the amount withheld from the
return of a security deposit reasonably reflect the amount a rental
housing provider incurs to repair or correct the damage for which it is
withheld?
70. Should such a rule exempt or exclude any type of rental housing
providers (for example, small businesses, providers of single- or two-
family homes, units in owner-occupied buildings with four or fewer
units, or third-party service providers, such as property management
software providers, listing services, and online
[[Page 12333]]
rental platforms) from compliance with the rule, in whole or in part?
a. If so, please identify such providers, provide a justification
for exempting or excluding them and specify the type or types of
potential requirements from which they would be exempted or excluded.
71. How would such a rule intersect with existing rental housing
practices, norms, rules, laws, or regulations?
a. Are there any existing rental housing laws or regulations,
including State or local tenant protection laws relating to fees, that
would affect or interfere with the implementation of such a rule?
72. Should the Commission consider publishing additional consumer
and business education materials or hosting public workshops to reduce
consumer injury or harm associated with the potentially unfair and
deceptive practices described in Section II?
a. If so, what should such education materials and workshops
include, and how should the Commission communicate that information to
consumers and businesses?
73. How would a rule requiring the disclosure of mandatory fees and
charges before the consumer consents to pay affect advertising?
a. How would advertising costs be impacted?
b. What would it cost third-party service providers, such as
property management software providers, listing services, and online
rental platforms to ensure compliance with such a rule?
74. How would a rule requiring the disclosure of total rent
including all mandatory fees and charges affect advertising?
a. How would advertising costs be impacted?
b. What would it cost third-party service providers, such as
property management software providers, listing services, and online
rental platforms to ensure compliance with such a rule?
IV. Comment Submissions
The public is invited to submit comments on this document. The
Commission will consider all timely and responsive comments it receives
on or before April 13, 2026. Because of the agency's heightened
security screening, postal mail addressed to the Commission will be
delayed. We strongly encourage you to submit your comments online
through the <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> website. If you prefer to file
your comments on paper, write ``Unfair or Deceptive Rental Housing Fee
Practices ANPRM, Project No. R207011'' on your comment and on the
envelope, and mail your comment by overnight service to: Federal Trade
Commission, Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Mail
Stop H-144 (Annex R), Washington, DC 20580.
For comments submitted online through the <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> website, you are solely responsible for making sure
your comment does not include any sensitive personally identifiable or
health information. In addition, your comment should not include any
``trade secret or any commercial or financial information which . . .
is privileged or confidential''--as provided by section 6(f) of the FTC
Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 4.10(a)(2)--
including in particular competitively sensitive information such as
costs, sales statistics, inventories, formulas, patterns, devices,
manufacturing processes, or customer names.
Your comment--including your name and your State--will be placed on
the public record of this proceeding, including, to the extent
practicable, on the <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> website. Once your
comment has been posted there--as legally required by FTC Rule 4.9(b)--
we cannot redact or remove your comment from that website unless you
submit a written confidentiality request that meets the requirements
for such treatment under FTC Rule 4.9(c), and the General Counsel
grants that request. Such requests must be clearly labeled
``Confidential,'' must include the factual and legal basis for the
request, and must identify the specific portions of the comment to be
withheld from the public record. See FTC Rule 4.9(c).
The FTC Act and other laws that the Commission administers permit
the collection of public comments to consider and use in this
proceeding, as appropriate. For information on the Commission's privacy
policy, including routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, see
<a href="https://www.ftc.gov/site-information/privacy-policy">https://www.ftc.gov/site-information/privacy-policy</a>.
V. Regulatory Review
E.O. 14215 requires all executive branch departments and agencies
to submit all their proposed and final significant regulatory actions
to the Office of Budget and Management (OMB) for review. E.O. 12866
says that agencies should assess the costs and benefits of available
regulatory alternatives and, if regulation is necessary, select
regulatory approaches that maximize net benefits (including potential
economic, environmental, public health and safety effects, and
distributive impacts).
By direction of the Commission.
April J. Tabor,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2026-04907 Filed 3-12-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on March 13, 2026.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.