Rental fee transparency is the legal requirement for landlords and property managers to clearly reveal all costs associated with renting a property upfront. That means any additional monthly or one-time fees like application fees, security deposits, pet fees, utility charges and more, must be clearly noted on the online rental listing before a prospective renter commits to signing a lease agreement. Thus preventing hidden “junk fees” and ensuring renters know the true total cost of housing to make informed decisions. According to the National Apartment Association, there’s a growing trend in housing law aimed at fairness and transparency, often mandated by new state laws.
Why Fee Transparency Matters for Property Managers and Landlords
For landlords and property managers, non-compliance to these new standards can lead to severe legal consequences. Yet, beyond the legal exposure, a failure to be transparent about fees will critically harm a rental community’s or property management company’s reputation. In an era dominated by online reviews and social media, a single complaint about hidden fees can quickly snowball into a damaging PR nightmare. View NAA’s recent coverage on rental fee transparency mandates explored by states and localities. You can also review all of the relevant administrative filings and press releases at the FTC’s Enforcement page.
Best Practices for Property Managers & Landlords:
- – Provide a comprehensive, itemized fee schedule, not just a percentage.
- – Clearly separate management fees from other potential charges.
- – Check your state and local standards for clarity in data sharing.
- – Ensure the management agreement details when and how fees are deducted. Read our blog post that summarizes what to list.
- – Review your current rental listings today!
How Rently Makes Fee Transparency Compliance Easy
Rently is making it easy for landlords and property managers to display all rental fees directly on their online property listing advertisements managed through Rently’s platform that are published on Homes.Rently.com, Zillow.com, and other syndicated listing sites. This includes not only the base rent and security deposit, but also any other recurring, mandatory charges like pet fees, application fees, late fees, and administrative charges, fees paid to a third-party and any usage-based applicable fees. Property managers can also input their legal fee disclaimer within the breakdown, up to a 1,000 character limit.
Fee disclosure is the cornerstone of pricing transparency and fairness, guaranteeing prospective renters know the full, true cost of their rental property upfront. Hidden or unexpected fees not only lead to frustration and financial strain for renters but also significantly damage the essential relationship and trust between renter and landlords/property managers.
Rently provides a detailed breakdown of all fees associated with a rental on your rental listings, including:
- – Mandatory Fees – Required costs such as utilities, service fees, or required amenities.
- – Optional Fees – Add-ons like parking, storage, or pet-related fees, clearly marked as optional.
- – One-Time Fees – Costs such as application fees or move-in charges.
- – Additional Fees – Any other situational fee types, such as early lease termination, late fees, and other applicable charges that can occur in certain situations. Be sure to note them with clear descriptions and frequency.
View Rently Knowledge Article for “how to” add to associated fees to your rental listings in Rently.
What Renters Should Know About Fee Transparency
For renters, it’s important to know what to look for when you begin searching for your next rental home. Any rental listing advertisement, like the online rental listing or property flyers are required to display the full base rent price along with mandatory fees, one-time fees or miscellaneous fees that would be due upon signing a rental agreement. Fee regulations vary by state, so it’s critical to know your state’s rental fee disclosure standards. Check out NAA’s rental fee summary by state.
Did you know that 72% of prospective renters report using the internet when starting their rental home search? And a whopping 89% use Internet Listing Services (ILSs) to find and schedule property tours, according to Google stats. Rently’s exclusive ILS site homes.rently.com connects millions of move-in ready renters to various property management companies. Rently powers the technology behind self-guided tours, where you’re able to tour an available property all on your own, without a leasing agent having to be present. Our data shows that 83% of prospective renters prefer to take self-guided tours and 53% prefer touring outside of regular business hours and on weekends because it’s more convenient. Rently powers the most intuitive and secure self-guided touring experience. Prospective renters who use Rently, rate our Rently Tours App 4.8 out of 5.
Are you a renter looking for your next home? Be sure to start your online search using Rently’s exclusive ILS – homes.rently.com.
Are you a property manager looking to bring in more leads by offering more ways to tour your available units? Self-guided touring is no longer a nice-to-have, it’s a necessity, as 83% of renters want to take self-guided tours & 53% prefer to tour after hours or on weekends. With Rently’s Self-guided touring service and leasing automation platform, you can generate more leads, auto-reply to leads for increased engagement, and let your leads schedule convenient in-person tours and view your properties on their own, at their preferred day and time, safely and securely. Rently powers most secure, ID-verified self-guided tours with various built-in fraud prevention security measures. Use your own CodeBoxes, SentriGuard lockboxes or purchase Rently lockboxes and smart locks with quick and easy one-time use access codes. Get started today with Rently!
