Legal Update: What is Fee Transparency and Why Should I Care?

What is Fee Transparency and Why Should I Care? 

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The current fee transparency movement started back in September 2022, when the Biden-Harris Administration announced its intent to eliminate what it affectionately referred to as “Junk Fees” – essentially fees that were being added to the base price of goods or services that weren’t disclosed in the advertised price. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) began targeting the banking and airline industries and the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) soon joined the push, expanding the focus to live-event ticketing and short-term lodging. The FTC ultimately finalized a “Junk Fees Rule” taking effect in May 2025, prohibiting hidden or misleading fees and requiring covered businesses to disclose all mandatory fees in the upfront, advertised prices.

So what does this have to do with the Multifamily rental industry? Fast forward to April 27, 2026 and Washington D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb filed suit against a Multifamily operator and its subsidiaries, alleging deceptive rent advertising and the assessment of unauthorized fees in the District of Columbia. The lawsuit alleges that the company:

• Advertised artificially low "base" or "starting at" rent prices that excluded mandatory monthly fees, making those prices unavailable to any actual tenant;
• Failed to disclose additional fees altogether on aggregator websites; and
• Obscured event-triggered fees, such as the roommate release fee and early lease termination fees, by omitting them from prominent disclosure pages on its website.

The D.C. Attorney General is requesting injunctive relief, restitution for affected tenants and civil penalties and costs.

This lawsuit reinforces a clear and escalating regulatory trend: Multifamily operators, particularly institutional owners and REITs operating in jurisdictions with rent control or consumer protection statutes, should be aware that:

• Fee transparency is no longer optional. Mandatory charges must be fully incorporated into advertised pricing, and any separately assessed fees must comply with local caps and disclosure requirements.
• Maintenance-related fees face heightened scrutiny. Charges for services legally required of landlords are increasingly characterized as unlawful in jurisdictions with strong housing codes.
• AG enforcement is persistent and compounding. The D.C. Attorney General has demonstrated willingness to pursue both individual fee disputes and industry-wide antitrust theories simultaneously and other Attorneys General may soon follow suit.

*The information provided in this article does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information in this article is for general informational purposes only. Information in this article may not constitute the most up-to-date legal or other information. Viewers of this material should contact their attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular legal matter. No viewer of this material should act or refrain from acting on the basis of information in this presentation without first seeking legal advice from counsel in the relevant jurisdiction. Only your individual attorney can provide assurances that the information contained herein – and your interpretation of it – is applicable or appropriate to your particular situation.  Use of, and access to, this article does not create an attorney-client relationship between the reader and Brownlee Whitlow & Praet, PLLC, Loebsack & Brownlee, PLLC, or any contributing law firms. All liability with respect to actions taken or not taken based on the contents of this article are hereby expressly disclaimed.