So you found an apartment you think you can afford. But would that still be the case if parking, administration, maintenance fees, or even a “trash concierge” were added to the monthly bill?
For renters in San Francisco, those costs are often not disclosed until a lease is signed — and those few hundred dollars can make an already expensive home outright unaffordable.
The unwanted surprises could become a thing of the past if the city adopts the No Hidden Rent Act, to be introduced Thursday by Supervisor Bilal Mahmood. The bill would require landlords to disclose upfront the true cost of renting in online advertisements and lease agreements.
California’s Tenant Protection Act of 2019 puts limits on apartment rent increases. But Mahmood says landlords have increasingly gotten around that cap by adding recurring charges after burying the details in the fine print of lease contracts.
Mahmood’s bill would require rental listings to display the total cost alongside the base rent. The first page of a lease would have to include an itemized list of fees, with clear explanations.
If a landlord fails to comply with the requirements, tenants would have the right to terminate the lease without penalty.
“People are being misled into signing up for rents that they cannot afford,” Mahmood said. “This legislation creates one clear number that renters can actually rely on.”
Landlords would also be prohibited from imposing late fees, penalties, or eviction proceedings based on any undisclosed charges. The legislation would apply to rent-controlled and market-rate units.
The average monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment in San Francisco just crossed $4,000 (opens in new tab) for the first time, according to the national rental platform Zumper. Rents increased 21% since last year, the most in the nation.
While San Francisco’s housing crisis is typically framed as a supply problem, Mahmood says preventing displacement is just as important.
The District 5 supervisor said he was inspired after dealing with “junk fees” as a renter in the Tenderloin. Tenant advocacy groups such as the Eviction Defense Collaborative have also raised the issue with him this year.
“San Franciscans deserve proactive tools to solve homelessness that are rooted in prevention,” said Gail Gilman, executive director of EDC. “This legislation is a critical component of our city’s complex approach.”
Lack of transparency in housing costs is an issue nationwide. Last year, the National Apartment Association tracked more than 25 state-level bills that propose similar mandates to Mahmood’s No Hidden Rent Act. Colorado has a law (opens in new tab) that took effect this year that goes even further by prohibiting housing providers from charging fees for maintenance of common areas or third-party services that exceed a narrow cap.
The fight for price transparency has also come up in restaurant surcharges, hotel bookings, and concert and airline tickets.
But the landlord lobby has argued (opens in new tab) that rental housing should be treated differently than those “single-point transaction” businesses. NAA says requiring landlords to roll all potential fees into one price would “artificially inflate rents and make anticipated rental housing costs unclear to renters.”
Mahmood said local real estate advocacy groups are reviewing his bill, and he expects those conversations to be cordial since other cities and states have already explored the issue.
Earlier this month, the supervisor introduced legislation aimed at assisting developers by streamlining environmental review procedures for new housing projects that would go beyond ministerial state requirements.
“We need to be tackling affordability from all sides,” Mahmood said. “We need immediate solutions that make renting fairer right now.”
More about the author
Kevin V. Nguyen is a business reporter at The Standard. He previously covered commercial real estate at The Silicon Valley Business Journal and got his first journalism break at The Sacramento Bee.
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