For years, the advertised rent was rarely the rent. Application fees, administrative fees, mandatory utility or "amenity" packages, technology fees and pet fees surfaced one at a time as a renter moved through the process. Fee transparency laws change that: the price a renter sees first has to include what they will actually be required to pay, or the fees have to be disclosed in full before anything is signed.
The rules are spreading state by state, with different effective dates and slightly different scopes, and a separate federal rule now governs how short-term lodging is priced. This guide brings them together. It is general information, not legal advice; each state guide linked below goes into the detail.
The common thread
Almost every fee transparency law shares the same idea: a mandatory fee — one a renter cannot avoid if they want the unit — belongs in the headline price or in a single total disclosed upfront. Optional fees can usually be shown separately, as long as they really are optional. Where the laws differ is in timing (in the advertisement, before application, or before signing), in whether optional fees and vendor charges are covered, and in who enforces them.
State by state
California — SB 478, the Honest Pricing Law, bans advertising a price that leaves out mandatory fees, which reaches rental listings and the application flow. See California fee transparency law.
Colorado — the Protections Against Deceptive Pricing Practices Act, passed in 2025, takes effect January 1, 2026 and requires mandatory fees to be disclosed as a single total price before a lease is signed. See Colorado fee transparency law.
Connecticut — SB 3 takes effect July 1, 2026, requiring the total price of rental fees to be disclosed before a lease is signed. See Connecticut fee transparency law.
Maine — a fee transparency requirement in effect since January 1, 2025 requires full-cost disclosure before a lease is signed. See Maine fee transparency law.
Massachusetts — the Unfair and Deceptive Fees Rule (940 CMR 38.00), in effect since September 2, 2025, is broader than most: it reaches optional and waivable fees and vendor agreements as well as mandatory charges. See Massachusetts fee transparency law.
Minnesota — since January 1, 2024, non-optional fees must appear alongside the rent in listings and on the first page of the lease. See Minnesota fee transparency law.
Virginia — rather than regulating the advertised price, HB 2430 requires every fee charged on top of rent to be described on the first page of the written lease, in effect since July 1, 2025. See Virginia rental fee disclosure law.
Other states and several cities have bills or local ordinances in progress, so a portfolio outside these six should still check its own state each year.
The federal rule for short-term rentals
Short-stay hosts and managers have a federal rule to follow regardless of state. The Federal Trade Commission's Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees, in effect since May 12, 2025, applies to short-term lodging — hotels, vacation rentals and similar stays — as well as live-event tickets. Whoever advertises a price for a stay must show the total price, including all mandatory fees such as cleaning, resort or service fees, more prominently than other pricing information. Government-imposed taxes may be shown separately, and the nature and amount of each fee must be disclosed before payment.
For a manager with a direct booking website, that means the price a guest sees when they choose dates must already include the cleaning fee and any other mandatory charge. A booking engine that adds the cleaning fee on the final screen is exactly what the rule targets. The direct booking website quotes the stay total with the cleaning fee included and tourist tax shown as a separate line.
What to check in your own listings
List every fee you charge, mark each one as mandatory or genuinely optional, and check where each mandatory fee first appears to the renter or guest. If it appears after the advertised price — in an application, a follow-up email, or at the last step of checkout — move it into the headline total. Then check the lease or booking terms say the same thing, because a mismatch between the listing and the contract is the easiest violation for a regulator or a tenant to prove.
Keep a dated copy of your listings and fee schedule. If a rule changes, being able to show what you advertised and when is the simplest form of compliance evidence there is.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Landlord-tenant rules change and vary by jurisdiction; check the current statute or consult a local attorney before acting on it.
Common questions
Which states have rental fee transparency laws?
As of 2026, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts and Minnesota have rules requiring rental fees to be disclosed in the advertised price or as an upfront total, with different effective dates and scopes. Virginia requires all fees to be listed on the first page of the lease. More states have bills in progress.
Does the FTC junk fee rule apply to vacation rentals?
Yes. The FTC Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees, in effect since May 12, 2025, covers short-term lodging, including vacation rentals. Advertised prices must include mandatory fees such as cleaning fees; government taxes can be shown separately.
Are optional fees covered by fee transparency laws?
Usually only mandatory fees must be in the headline price, but Massachusetts goes further and covers optional fees and vendor agreements too. Check the specific state rule.
What is a mandatory fee?
Any fee a renter or guest must pay to rent the unit or complete the booking. If they cannot opt out of it and still get the unit, it is mandatory.
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