Disclaimer: This guide is for informational purposes only. Always refer to your team for compliance decisions and stay informed on evolving local, state, and federal regulations. Requirements vary by jurisdiction and may change over time.
Price is a major factor in where residents choose to live. In fact, 84% of residents say cost is their top concern, ahead of location and safety.
Yet too often, rental fees are hidden or unclear, leaving residents without a full picture of what they’ll actually pay each month. That approach damages trust before the lease is even signed.
Multifamily fee transparency is no longer just a best practice. Laws are evolving, and compliance matters. This guide breaks down the basics, highlights where regulations are in place, and outlines seven practical steps to help you stay compliant and build stronger resident relationships through fee transparency.
What is Multifamily Fee Transparency?
Multifamily fee transparency, or “fee compliance,” means presenting residents with the true cost of renting a unit by including all mandatory fees in the monthly rent.
The total amount of monthly rent plus any applicable fees is known as the Total Monthly Leasing Price (TMLP). The TMLP is the “all-in” price your resident must pay each month and must be given to residents before they provide personal information or start a rental application.
Fee Disclosure Requirements for Rental Housing: Mandatory vs. Optional
Fee transparency rules vary by state, but most require communities to disclose all recurring costs in advertised prices. Here’s a breakdown of the types of fees you may charge renters and how to label them.
Mandatory Fees
The following must be included in your total monthly leasing price disclosure:
- Utilities
- Application fees
- Admin or leasing fees
- Trash or valet trash
- Pest control
- Amenities fees
- Required tech packages
Situational Fees
These fees, though charged only in specific cases, should be disclosed early:
- Key or fob replacements
- Early termination fees
- Lockouts
- Damage fees
- Unauthorized pet fees
Optional Fees
Residents may choose these fees, but they must be clearly labeled regardless:
- Pet rent
- Parking (garages, carports, reserved, etc.)
- Storage
- Premium amenities
- Short-term lease premiums
Why is Multifamily Fee Transparency Important?
The landscape of multifamily junk fees compliance has been fundamentally reshaped by federal and state intervention. In late 2025, FTC Chairman Ferguson announced new FTC rental housing rulemaking aimed at eliminating deceptive pricing. This follows the high-profile FTC Greystar settlement, which served as a cautionary case study for the industry regarding FTC Section 5 violations and unfair pricing practices.
Multifamily fee transparency is now a priority nationwide, and several states and cities have passed laws to eliminate hidden or misleading charges.
Recent legislation against junk fees in other industries shows where policy is heading. As pricing regulations expand, marketing and operations must stay compliant with local and state rules. For property managers, non-compliance now carries significant risks, including FTC warning letters regarding property management software and potential litigation under renter consumer protection statutes.
Taking this seriously also builds trust with prospective residents. Clearly showing the total cost of renting improves the resident experience from day one.
Which States and Cities Require All-In Pricing for Rental Listings?
The regulatory landscape for total price advertising in multifamily is fragmented. To maintain rental pricing integrity, operators must track specific state mandates:
| Jurisdiction | Effective date | Type | What ads must show | Utilities in the “total” |
| Minnesota (statewide) | 1/1/2024 | TMLP | Rental listings must include all required fees in the advertised rent. Leases must display a clearly labeled “Total Monthly Payment” on the first page. (MN Revisor’s Office) | Ads must disclose whether utilities are included, and required recurring utility charges must be reflected in the total. (MN Revisor’s Office) |
| Maine (statewide) | 1/1/2025 | TMLP | Prospective tenants must receive a total price disclosure, including rent and fees, before signing, often referred to as “total price” transparency. (Maine State Legislature) | If exact utility costs are unavailable, landlords may provide an estimated energy-cost alternative; otherwise, recurring utility charges must be included in the disclosed total. (Maine State Legislature) |
| Massachusetts (statewide) | 9/2/2025 | TMLP | Operators must prominently display the full price, including mandatory fees, in ads for apartment rentals. (Mass.gov) | Government taxes are excluded, but all other required charges must be included in the total price shown. (Mass.gov) |
| Virginia (statewide) | 7/1/2025 | TMLP | Advertisements must clearly display a single total price that includes all mandatory fees. Rental housing is within scope and landlords are not exempt. (Consumer Financial Services Law Monitor) | Government fees may be excluded, but all other required charges must be reflected in the advertised total. (Consumer Financial Services Law Monitor) |
| Colorado (statewide) | 1/1/2026 | TMLP | All offers for goods, services, or property must disclose the full price upfront, including mandatory fees. This applies to rental housing and prohibits certain landlord fees. (Colorado General Assembly) | Landlords are not required to include actual utility dollar amounts in the total disclosure, though other mandatory monthly fees must still be included. (Colorado General Assembly) |
| Connecticut (statewide) | 7/1/2026 | TMLP | Advertising a price without including fees is prohibited. The law adopts an all-in pricing standard across goods and services, including residential leasing. (Connecticut General Assembly) | Taxes are excluded; all other mandatory charges must be incorporated into the advertised price. (Kelley Drye & Warren LLP) |
| Nevada (statewide) | 10/1/2025 | TMLP | Listings must show rent as a single figure including all mandatory fees, though separately billed master-metered utilities may be disclosed outside the base rent. (Nevada Eviction Attorneys | Karsaz Law) | The law requires a single total rent in listings to prevent base-rent ads from hiding mandatory fees, and it applies to ads as well as leases. (Nevada Eviction Attorneys | Karsaz Law) |
| New York City (local) | 6/11/2025 | Fee Disclosure Only | This is not a true all-in pricing rule; listings must disclose extra tenant fees, and brokers can’t charge tenants when representing landlords. (NYC.gov) | Listings must identify other tenant-paid fees, but there is no requirement to advertise a single bundled total. (NYC.gov) |
| Bellingham, WA (local) | 8/1/2025 | Fee Disclosure Only | Local rules focus on improving fee transparency and limiting certain charges, without explicitly requiring all-in advertised pricing. (City of Bellingham) | — |
7 Steps to Comply with Fee Transparency Laws
To stay compliant, teams need to work in sync rather than in silos. The steps below can help you get there.
1. Audit All Existing Fees
Reconsider the fees your portfolio charges. Are they mandatory, situational, or optional? Categorize them accordingly. Doing this lays the groundwork for accurately updating pricing across all of your properties later.
2. Establish a Standard Fee Policy
Create a clear fee policy that defines the total monthly price. The policy should define all property fees, clarify which must be disclosed before lease signing, and standardize how they’re labeled across your website, listings, and advertising.
Remember: Your fee policy should remain a flexible, up-to-date document that complies with current state and local regulations. Be sure to review and revise it regularly as rules change.
3. Update Total Monthly Pricing
Next, update the total monthly cost for each unit across marketing channels, using the method that fits your platform.
- Manual Updates: For platforms without automated feeds, manually update total monthly costs across your website, ILS, social media, and other resident-facing platforms.
- PMS Automation (if supported): If your PMS supports structured fee data or all-in pricing fields, turn on MITS 5-compliant pricing feeds to keep info consistent across channels.
- Google Updates (if supported): Use integrations that connect your PMS to Google Business Profiles to automatically reflect availability, specials, and total monthly costs in real time.
4. Audit Your ILS Presence
Review all digital and printed materials to confirm that pricing aligns with new policies and regulations. Make sure price sheets, flyers, lease agreements, and other legal or marketing documents are correct and explain required fees.
5. Disclose Fees Early and Often
Share fees with prospective residents before they provide personal information or submit an application. When residents understand the costs upfront, it builds trust and moves them through the leasing funnel more quickly.
6. Train On-Site Teams
To improve communication about fees, provide leasing teams with your fee transparency policy, along with updated scripts, templates, and talking points. Consider providing training sessions as needed.
7. Monitor and Review Compliance Regularly
Quarterly or annual audits help ensure your communities comply with local and state regulations, especially as laws change. Stay informed on regulatory updates at the local, state, and federal levels, and benchmark your policies against the strictest markets in your portfolio.
Power Transparent Pricing with Better Data
Multifamily fee transparency is no longer optional. Renters expect clear pricing, and policymakers are reinforcing that expectation. When fees are transparent, the leasing process becomes smoother, and trust shows up earlier.
ApartmentIQ provides reliable pricing data, so multifamily operators can make confident decisions on pricing and fees. With information on over 40 million units nationwide, it’s never been easier to set competitive prices and clearly explain costs.
Book a demo to see how ApartmentIQ makes pricing simpler and more data-driven.
For more information, see the Real Estate Technology & Transformation Center’s fee transparency guide or the National Apartment Association’s guide to fee transparency mandates.
