The Price You See Isn't the Price You Pay: Rental Junk Fees and the Relocating Employee

The advertised rent on a U.S. apartment is often not what a tenant actually pays, and that gap now lands squarely on mobility programs. A New York Times opinion piece puts rental "junk fees" back in the spotlight. Journalist Tracie McMillan describes landlords separating base rent from a growing list of add-ons, from doorstep trash pickup to DNA testing of pet waste, so the listed price is often well below what tenants actually owe.

Application fees, online payment "convenience" charges, mandatory amenity and tech packages, valet trash, and utility billing fees are now routine. Zillow's latest renter survey found that 60% of renters paid at least one fee beyond rent in 2025, excluding pet fees. Among Gen Z renters, the share was 78%, and that group includes many of the new graduates and interns companies relocate each year. For corporate mobility teams, this is not just a consumer story. It affects budgets, policy design, and the experience of every transferee, new hire, and intern who rents in the U.S. To see how this plays out on the ground, we asked four of our destination service partners, Dwellworks, GO Destination Services, IOR Global Services, and The Right Move Group, what they are seeing as they support rental searches across the country.

Regulators are moving, but unevenly

In March 2026, the Federal Trade Commission opened a formal rulemaking on unfair or deceptive rental housing fee practices. The FTC is asking whether landlords should be barred from advertising rents that exclude mandatory charges, and it is looking at fees across the full lease, from application to move-out. Twenty-seven state attorneys general urged the agency to proceed. There is no final federal rule yet, and industry groups such as the National Apartment Association argue existing state and local laws are sufficient.

Enforcement is already happening. Greystar, the largest U.S. property manager, agreed to a $24 million settlement with the FTC and Colorado. It must now list every fee and fold fixed mandatory monthly fees into its advertised price, though fees it calls usage-based are excluded. McMillan's own review found more than 125 named fees across Greystar listings, and none of the 60 listings she analyzed advertised a price that covered every mandatory fee.

Many states are not waiting. Roughly 19 states now regulate rental fees in some form, most within the last five years. A few examples:

• California's honest-pricing law, in effect since July 2024, targets junk fees and drip pricing, and a separate rule requires landlords to rent to the first qualified applicant or refund screening fees to applicants they don't screen. Lori Lindsay, President and CEO of The Right Move Group, says some Bay Area complexes now post an all-in price with a fee breakdown, though DSPs have little visibility into whether application fee refunds are actually issued.
• Colorado requires a single all-inclusive advertised rent price.
• Connecticut requires rental ads to disclose all periodic fees. (Public Act 25-44)
• Maryland requires landlords with four or more units to disclose all mandatory fees before signing, for leases signed or renewed on or after October 1, 2026.
• New York City launched a citywide junk fee task force by executive order (EO 09) in January 2026, on top of the FARE Act shifting broker fees to whoever hires the broker.

Seattle passed an ordinance (Council Bill 121254) in August that bans many rental fees, including administrative charges, pet rent, and package fees, and requires every mandatory and optional fee to appear in listings and applications. It applies only to leases signed or renewed after July 1, 2027, so Seattle transferees signing today still face these charges. Philadelphia tenants launched a junk fee strike in early October. The result is a patchwork. What a transferee pays, and what they are told up front, depends heavily on where they land.

Seattle passed an ordinance (Council Bill 121254) in August that bans many rental fees, including administrative charges, pet rent, and package fees, and requires every mandatory and optional fee to appear in listings and applications. It applies only to leases signed or renewed after July 1, 2027, so Seattle transferees signing today still face these charges. Philadelphia tenants launched a junk fee strike in early October. The result is a patchwork. What a transferee pays, and what they are told up front, depends heavily on where they land. On the ground, change has been slower. Katie Abbatacola, Manager, Global Client Solutions at IOR Global Services, says her teams have not noticed a significant shift in how landlords advertise in the markets where they support transferees.

Why this matters for mobility programs

Relocating employees are among the most exposed renters in the market. They often search remotely, on compressed timelines, and commit before they have seen the full lease. That leaves little room to walk away when fees appear late in the process. The fees are most common among large corporate landlords, and McMillan notes Greystar alone owns or manages about one million units, mostly in major cities and areas with large student populations. Those are the same markets where many transferees and interns land.

Several program impacts follow:

• Budgets built on advertised rent fall short. Rental assistance, lump sums, and housing allowances calibrated to listing prices can understate true monthly cost. A July Urban Institute study of about 1,100 Colorado rental ledgers found tenants paid an average of $143 a month in fees and fines on top of rent, more than $1,700 over a 12-month lease. Dwellworks sees add-on fees commonly adding $150 to $250 or more a month, and considerably more in some premium communities. In the Bay Area, The Right Move Group sees valet trash around $30 a month, amenity fees of $50 to $100 for access that used to be included in rent, "concierge" fees of $25 to $60 for tasks tenants could handle themselves, and mandatory internet packages of up to $75 a month when comparable service costs about $35 on the open market.
• Some costs arrive after move support ends. Utilities billed through ratio utility billing systems (RUBS) are split by formula, so tenants can't lower them by using less. Lindsay says many tenants get large bills even when they have been out of town. McMillan notes these charges often don't appear until the second or third month because of billing lags, which for a transferee can be just as temporary housing and move support wind down. Dwellworks sees the same pattern: "These additional costs are always documented in advance of lease signing, but often only become fully apparent after the first few months of occupancy," says Chuck Naso, CRP, Senior Director, Global Account Management. How often that becomes a surprise depends on the support an employee gets. In large corporate-managed buildings, Lindsay says, transferees are surprised by fees "quite often." IOR's Abbatacola says that for the transferees her teams support, it happens "rarely, if ever," because consultants ask about fees and utilities upfront and talk with the property before an application goes in. Usage-based utilities are harder to predict, she notes, but leasing teams can often provide an expected range.
• Lease terms can turn a small fee into a bigger problem. Some leases apply every payment to fees first and rent second, so an unpaid fee can leave rent short and trigger late charges. McMillan found Greystar leases running as long as 101 pages with up to 33 separate documents, which is a lot to review from another city on a deadline.
• Upfront cash is a hurdle for some employees. In New York, GO Destination Services notes that renters typically need first month's rent, a security deposit, broker fees, and guarantor fees all at once, and new graduates and people new to the country often don't have those funds readily available. International transferees with no U.S. credit history may also face guarantor fees or larger deposits where local law allows them. IOR notes that a guarantor requirement often isn't confirmed until the application is processed, though properties will often flag the possibility for applicants without U.S. credit.
• Application costs depend on how the search is run. Dwellworks puts application and screening fees at roughly $50 to $100 or more per adult applicant, sometimes with added administrative fees. Most Dwellworks transferees submit a single application because they apply after a structured home-finding process. Lindsay sees two to three applications after an in-person tour, but seven to ten or more for virtual rental support in San Francisco, where larger complexes charge for every application. IOR sees fees of about $40 to $60 per adult, occasionally up to $75. Most of its transferees are accepted on their first application, and about a quarter need a second, usually for single-family homes in tight markets. Employees moving with pets face more: one Austin complex charges about $930 per pet in the first year, and Abbatacola finds many transferees don't realize how much monthly pet rent can cost in the U.S. until their first call with a DSP.
• Reimbursement policy gets murky. Is an "administrative fee" or a "resident benefits package" a reimbursable relocation expense? Most policies were not written with these charges in mind. Any reimbursement is also generally taxable income to the employee, adding gross-up cost.
• Inbound international assignees are often surprised. Employees arriving from markets with all-inclusive rents may not expect layered U.S. fees, which can strain trust early in an assignment.
• Cost comparisons get distorted. Comparing apartment rentals against corporate housing or across destination cities only works when comparing total cost of occupancy.

What mobility teams should consider now

Dwellworks' Chuck Naso summed up the central recommendation:

"Historically, many relocation policies have focused on base rent when establishing budgets or approving housing. By budgeting for total occupancy costs rather than advertised rent alone, organizations can better align policy expectations with current market realities, reduce employee surprises, and minimize exception requests throughout the relocation process." — Chuck Naso, CRP, Senior Director, Global Account Management, Dwellworks

IOR's Abbatacola makes the same recommendation, noting that policies recognizing reasonable application, administrative, utility, parking, and other required property fees create more realistic expectations and keep relatively small costs from becoming a negative part of the employee's relocation experience.

1. Define housing support in all-in terms. Review rental assistance and allowance language so it references total monthly cost of occupancy, including recurring fees, utilities, parking, renters insurance, and guarantor fees, not base rent.
2. Ask for total cost in rental search reports. DSPs can capture recurring mandatory fees and one-time move-in charges for every property shown, giving transferees an apples-to-apples view. GO Destination Services also recommends a review of the draft lease before signing to identify additional fees, clarify financial obligations, and flag terms worth raising with the landlord. "While we cannot control how landlords structure or disclose their fees, our role is to promote greater transparency, help employees make informed decisions, and reduce the likelihood of unexpected costs during their relocation," says Neha Agarwal, Director of Client Relationship Management at GO Destination Services.
3. Clarify what is reimbursable. Spell out treatment of application fees, holding deposits, admin fees, guarantor fees, and amenity packages before the move, along with the tax impact. Lindsay recommends specific allowances for international transferees without U.S. credit history, who often need an additional deposit or a guarantor.
4. Plan for fees that won't be waived. Dwellworks sees some room to negotiate application, administrative, move-in, amenity, parking, and pet fees, mainly where occupancy is soft or inventory is high, while utilities, insurance, and third-party charges are typically fixed. In the Bay Area, Lindsay's experience is more blunt: "No one will waive fees." IOR agrees that professionally managed communities rarely negotiate fees for an individual applicant, but notes that concessions such as one or two months of free rent, free or discounted parking, or waived amenity fees are often available to qualifying applicants, and a DSP can make sure transferees take advantage of them. Budgets should assume most fees will stick.
5. Benchmark fees in your top destination markets. Fee practices vary widely by city and landlord type, and your program data and DSP partners can show where budgets are most at risk.
6. Prepare transferees early. A short pre-decision briefing on U.S. rental fee norms, and on local disclosure rights where they exist, helps employees ask the right questions.
7. Track the rules where you move the most people. State and local disclosure laws can work in your employees' favor, but only if your partners know how to use them.

The bottom line

Our partners described different markets and different experiences, but they agreed on one point: the listing price rarely tells the whole story. Where they differed was on how often that turns into a surprise, and the answer depends largely on the support an employee gets.

"These additional costs certainly exist, but for transferees working with a DSP, they are rarely a complete surprise. A big part of our role is helping the employee understand the true cost of the rental beyond the advertised base rent from the first intake call, asking the right questions upfront, and communicating directly with landlords and property management before an application is submitted." — Katie Abbatacola, Manager, Global Client Solutions, IOR Global Services

As one San Francisco renter in the op-ed said while reviewing a listing with an unpriced utility fee, "I need to know this number before I agree to it." Relocating employees deserve the same clarity. The takeaway for mobility leaders is simple: the price on the listing is a starting point, not the final number. Programs that plan, budget, and communicate around the true cost of renting will protect both their spend and their employees' first impression of a new city and they can count on destination partners to support the education of transferees and the clarification process in the rental search experience!