During the past month, the National Apartment Association (NAA) led the real estate industry’s response to the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) notice of proposed rulemaking to regulate “unfair and deceptive fees," which targets alleged "junk fees" in rental housing transactions.
NAA submitted joint industry comments with the National Multifamily Housing Council and took a leadership role in crafting the national real estate trade groups’ coalition letter.
As we emphasized in our comments, the rule is inapplicable to the rental housing industry, with its requirement to quote total prices at the start of the purchasing process and disclose nearly all possible fees that may or may not be charged during a lease term. Neither of these actions account for the unique aspects of rental housing transactions, which make it virtually impossible to predict and disclose such costs across the lifespan of a lease agreement in advertisements as the rule requires.
As part of NAA’s ongoing regulatory advocacy efforts, industry and coalition comments were reinforced by NAA’s campaign to support our affiliate partners in filing their own comments as well as a targeted call-to-action for industry professionals. Thank you to NAA’s affiliate partners and more than 3,600 members who took action and submitted comments on this proposed regulation.
While well-meaning, the proposed rule’s inflexible, one-size-fits-all approach to fee regulation ignores the operational realities of rental housing, which we strongly urged requires exemption. NAA will continue our advocacy on this issue and more to ensure the industry and its interests are understood and considered throughout the regulatory process.
To learn more, please contact Joe Riter, NAA’s Senior Manager, Public Policy.