What Is the FTC Actually Proposing? A Straight Answer for Property Management Leaders

If your inbox has been full of “junk fees” headlines lately, you’re not imagining things. In March 2026, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) targeting how rental housing providers disclose and charge fees. It’s a big deal for anyone running a residential portfolio and the details matter more than the headlines suggest.  Here’s a clear, no-fluff breakdown of what’s actually on the table.

Read More: What Is the FTC Actually Proposing

What Triggered This Rulemaking

The FTC’s move didn’t come out of nowhere. It follows years of pressure from consumer advocacy groups over the growing gap between advertised rent and what tenants actually pay once mandatory fees are added. The agency had already taken enforcement action against major rental providers including a 2024 settlement that returned roughly $48 million to affected renters before opening this broader rulemaking process in March 2026.

What the Proposed Rule Actually Says

At this stage, there’s no final regulation just a request for public input, which drew over 3,000 comments before the April 2026 deadline. But the direction is clear. The FTC is exploring rules that would require:

• All-in, upfront pricing: the total cost of rent, including mandatory fees, disclosed before a prospective resident applies or signs a lease
• Clear labeling: of which fees are mandatory, optional, refundable, or recurring
• Justification: that fees like application charges reasonably reflect actual costs, rather than functioning as pure profit centers

A bipartisan coalition of state attorneys general has since urged the FTC to move forward, arguing that a consistent national standard would create fairer competition across the industry.

How This Reshapes Your Move-In and Move-Out Revenue Workflow

For property managers, this isn’t just a legal footnote  it directly touches your move-in and move-out revenue workflow. Any ancillary charges, service fees, or ancillary revenue streams tied to moving in or moving out need to be transparent, itemized, and easy for residents to understand from day one. A disorganized, manual move-in and move-out revenue workflow makes that kind of transparency much harder to guarantee at scale.

Why Resident Experience Is Now a Compliance Issue

Here’s the shift most operators haven’t fully clocked yet: resident experience and regulatory compliance are converging. Confusing fee structures don’t just risk fines  they erode trust and hurt renewal rates. A positive resident experience now depends on the same thing regulators are asking for: clarity, consistency, and no surprises at move-in or move-out.

What Property Managers Should Do Now

• Audit every fee currently charged across your portfolio
• Document the actual cost basis behind each charge
• Standardize disclosure language across listings and leases
• Build compliance directly into your operational systems, not as an afterthought

Wrap Up 

Regulatory scrutiny on rental fees isn’t going away, and the businesses that get ahead of it will be better positioned than those scrambling to react. Platforms built with compliance and transparency at their core like Moved, the top slot for automating and elevating the resident experience  make it far easier to stay audit-ready while still protecting your ancillary revenue.