Press Release: 4/9/2025

New Regulations Require Landlords to Disclose Fees

 

The Massachusetts Attorney General has issued a new set of rules, effective September 2, to regulate the imposition of additional charges, often critically referred to as “junk fees”, in connection with the advertising, marketing or offering of “Products”, defined to specifically include “dwelling units available for rent or lease.” Because the rules are primarily designed to address abuses related to the reservation of hotel rooms, the purchase of airline or concert tickets and similar consumer transactions, it isn’t entirely clear how the rental housing industry will be affected; hopefully clarification will be available during the coming months. 



The essence of the rule is that landlords will be required to “Clearly and Conspicuously” disclose the “Total Price” which the tenant will be required to pay, “inclusive of all fees, charges, or other expenses.” The disclosure needs to be made when the rental amount is initially advertised or otherwise revealed and before the tenant is required to “provide any personal information”. 



The regulations include a lengthy listing of what’s expected in order for a disclosure to qualify as clear and conspicuous, including the following:



• The disclosure must be readily noticeable and understandable by ordinary consumers.

• The size, location and other characteristics of a written disclosure must stand out from any accompanying text or other visual elements (e.g., larger, boldface text). 

• An oral or other audible disclosure must be delivered in a “volume, speed, and cadence sufficient for ordinary consumers to readily hear and understand it.” . 

• Any disclosure using the Internet or another interactive electronic medium must be “unavoidable.”

• The disclosure must be made in the same language used in the remainder of the applicable advertisement or other document.

• The disclosure may not be contradicted by or inconsistent with anything else in the communication.

• The disclosure must recite the nature, purpose and amount of any additional charges.

• If a particular charge is optional, the disclosure must explain how it can be avoided by the tenant.



A landlord may opt to include a fee as part of the rent, in which case no special disclosure need be made. For example, a landlord who wants to charge $1,500 in monthly rent plus an additional $100 amenity fee may elect to simply increase the rent to $1,600.



Another section of the new rule relates to “Negative Options” where a consumer has been given the right “to reject a good or service or to cancel or non-renew an agreement.” In such cases, the consumer must be reminded of the option no more than 30 and no fewer than five calendar days before the deadline for exercising the option. A “simple mechanism” for exercising the option (for example, via the Internet or by telephone) must be provided. These protections were probably meant to govern the cancellation of a magazine subscription and the like, but it’s conceivable that a tenant’s right not to renew a self-extending lease might be covered as well. The Massachusetts Apartment Association will seek clarification from the Attorney General’s office.



As usual, members with questions should contact their own attorneys or seek advice of a general nature on the MAA hotline (617-573-5822).