California rental housing providers have until Monday, April 13, to submit comments on whether the Federal Trade Commission should consider pursuing new rules on how rent and mandatory housing fees are advertised and disclosed to prospective tenants.

The commission published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking on March 13, on how rental housing fees are advertised and disclosed. The agency is asking for public feedback, including data and arguments, on whether new regulations are needed to address practices such as advertising rent without including all required fees, charging fees without informed consent, and misleading consumers about what a fee covers.

Such a notice is a preliminary step in the federal rulemaking process. It is not a proposed rule or a final regulation. Rather, it is an information-gathering stage in which the agency evaluates whether new rules are warranted and assesses the potential costs and benefits of different regulatory approaches.

The notice uses a broad definition of rental housing providers, including rental property owners and managers, third-party property management software providers, listing services, and online rental platforms.

The notice cites recent FTC enforcement activity against large rental housing operators, as well as state-level legislative and legal responses, signaling continued scrutiny of how mandatory rental charges are presented to consumers.

In California, disputes over rental fee disclosure have already drawn attention to the difference between fixed mandatory charges and fees that are optional or depend on a tenant’s usage or choices. That same distinction appears throughout the federal notice.

Housing providers who wish to weigh in should note that the comment deadline is Monday, April 13. Comments may be submitted by following the instructions in the Federal Register notice for the Unfair or Deceptive Rental Housing Fee Practices.

For members looking for a broader context on this topic, CAA is offering a May 27 webinar, Rental Housing Fees: The Big Picture, covering fee disclosure, AB 1482 implications for mandatory recurring charges, local rent control restrictions, California Attorney General enforcement activity, and FTC trends related to fee disclosure and “drip pricing.”