What "junk fee" means in a rental context
"Junk fee" isn't a precise legal term — it's shorthand regulators, journalists, and renters use for a mandatory charge that isn't included in the price you were shown up front. The problem isn't that the fee exists; it's that you couldn't compare the real cost of one rental against another because the advertised rent wasn't the full price. The FTC's own description of the problem, published as part of a 2026 inquiry into rental fees, lists dozens of fee names that show up this way, including lifestyle fees, amenity fees, common area maintenance fees, pest control fees, parking fees, technology fees, trash collection fees, administrative fees, utility-related fees, move-in fees, and payment processing and convenience fees, among others.
The FTC's actual Junk Fees Rule does not cover apartment rentals
In December 2024, the FTC finalized a specific rule requiring businesses to disclose the true, all-in price up front. That rule is real and in effect, but it only applies to live-event tickets and short-term lodging like hotels and vacation rentals. It does not cover long-term apartment or house leases, so it isn't the law that protects you from hidden fees on a 12-month lease.
A broader review of rental fees specifically is underway, but not final
Separately, in March 2026 the FTC published a preliminary notice — a request for public comment, not a rule — asking whether it should write a new rule specifically for rental housing fee practices, covering the entire "lease lifecycle" from application to move-out, including whether landlords should have to disclose all mandatory fees up front and get your express consent before charging one. The public comment period closed in April 2026, and as of when this was last checked, the FTC hadn't published a proposed or final rule from that process. Check ftc.gov for the current status before assuming any new protection is in effect.
Renters already have protection under existing law
Even without a rental-specific rule, the general federal ban on unfair or deceptive acts or practices already applies to landlords and property managers, and the FTC has used it. In 2024, the FTC obtained a $48 million settlement from Invitation Homes, the largest single-family rental company in the country, after alleging it excluded mandatory monthly fees from its advertised rent and mishandled security deposit deductions. In 2025, the FTC and the State of Colorado obtained a $23 million settlement, plus $1 million to the state, from Greystar, one of the largest apartment managers in the country, over similar claims that it excluded mandatory fixed fees from the rent it advertised. Both companies were ordered to change their advertising to show the full, mandatory-fee-inclusive price.
Separately, some states have their own laws addressing deceptive rental-fee advertising or requiring landlords to disclose a single total price; whether your state or city has one, and what exactly it requires, varies enough that it's worth checking your own state's landlord-tenant resources rather than assuming a specific rule applies.
A concrete example
Say a listing advertises "$1,900/month" for a one-bedroom. By the time you've applied, paid a holding deposit, and signed, your actual monthly cost is $1,900 rent, plus a $45 mandatory "amenity fee," a $25 mandatory "technology fee" for a building Wi-Fi network you didn't ask for, and a $20 mandatory trash-valet charge — none of which appeared in the listing. Your real monthly cost is $1,990, about 4.7% more than what was advertised, before you've paid a single convenience fee for the portal you're required to use to pay it. Individually, none of those charges is unusual; together, and undisclosed until after you committed, they're the exact pattern the FTC's enforcement actions and current rulemaking inquiry are both aimed at.
How to push back on a junk fee
- Save the original listing or ad, including the advertised price, before you apply.
- Get every fee itemized in writing before you sign, not just told about verbally.
- Compare what you were quoted against what you're actually billed once you move in.
- If a mandatory fee only showed up after you'd already applied, paid a holding deposit, or signed, that's the exact pattern the FTC has pursued rental companies over — document it.
- Consider a complaint to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov or your state attorney general if the gap between advertised and actual price was significant.
Honestkey™ reads your uploaded lease and lists every fee it finds, so you can compare it against what you were actually quoted before you signed.