On March 7, HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge published an open letter urging housing providers and state and local governments to adopt fee-related policies that would help create a fairer and more transparent rental market.
Recommended policies that promote fairness and transparency for renters:
- Eliminate rental application fees or limit application fees to only those necessary to cover actual and legitimate costs for services
- Allow a single application fee to cover multiple applications on the same platform or across multiple properties owned by one housing provider or managed by one company across providers
- Eliminate duplicative, excessive, and undisclosed fees at all stages of the leasing process such as administrative fees and other processing fees in addition to rental application fees
- Clearly identify bottom-line amounts that tenants will pay for move-in and monthly rent in advertisements of rental property and in lease documents, including all recurring monthly costs and their purpose
To read full letter click here