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On March 12, the FTC took a significant step toward regulating rental housing fees, issuing an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) seeking public comment on whether it should adopt a rule under Section 18 of the Federal Trade Commission Act. The proposed rule would target unfair or deceptive rental housing fee practices, with a particular focus on fees that may obscure the true cost of rental housing from application through moveout. Comments on the ANPRM are due by April 13, 2026.
The ANPRM identifies a broad range of potentially problematic fee practices. Among them: advertised rent that excludes mandatory fees or charges, fees imposed without express informed consent, and representations that may mislead consumers about the nature, purpose, amount, refundability, optionality, or recurrence of charges. The FTC also seeks input on practices involving application fees, security deposits, billing issues, and conduct that may impede consumer choice — such as requiring renters to use certain service providers. According to the agency, these practices can make comparison shopping more difficult, increase consumer search costs, and ultimately weaken price competition among housing providers.
Notably, the ANPRM signals that the FTC is looking beyond upfront advertised rent to fee practices across the full lease lifecycle. The Commission pointed to its recent enforcement actions against large housing providers as examples of alleged hidden-fee conduct, while acknowledging that case-by-case enforcement alone may not be sufficient to address the breadth of the issue across the rental housing market. A formal rule, the agency suggests, could serve as a stronger deterrent by enabling it to seek civil penalties and more readily obtain consumer redress.
Putting It Into Practice: This ANPRM is consistent with the FTC's broader push for pricing transparency and its ongoing scrutiny of allegedly deceptive fee practices (previously discussed here). For rental housing providers, property managers, listing platforms, and related service providers, now is the time to evaluate how rent and mandatory charges are advertised, when and how fees are disclosed, and whether consumer consent practices hold up to increasing regulatory expectations. Stakeholders may also wish to consider submitting comments during the public comment period to help shape the scope of any future rule.
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