If an apartment actually costs $1,800 a month, it shouldn't be advertised for $1,600. Period.

I've seen housing from almost every side of the table. I've been a renter. I've spent ten years in the mortgage industry helping people understand what they can actually afford. And today, I'm a landlord myself.

So I'm not saying landlords shouldn't charge legitimate fees. I'm saying renters shouldn't have to discover the real price of their home after they've applied, paid fees, or started planning their life around a number that was never the full number.

You've probably seen it before: an apartment is advertised at one price, but then come the mandatory technology fees, amenity fees, trash fees, administrative fees, utility-related charges, and other recurring costs.

Suddenly, the rent you thought you could afford isn't actually the rent you'll be paying.

And this isn't rare. A 2025 report cited by the Federal Trade Commission found that more than 70% of renters reported paying at least one mandatory charge beyond their monthly rent.

In March 2026, the FTC opened a rulemaking process examining rental housing fee practices, including advertising rent without all mandatory charges and imposing fees without informed consent.

The solution I'm asking for is pretty simple:

If a monthly fee is mandatory, it should be included in the rental price you see.

I'm calling on FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson and the Federal Trade Commission to establish a clear national standard requiring rental housing providers to disclose the true total monthly rent whenever a price is advertised or quoted. One-time fees should be clearly disclosed, and genuinely optional or usage-based costs should be clearly distinguished from mandatory charges.

This isn't landlords versus renters. I'm a landlord, too. This is about transparency.

Landlords deserve clear, workable rules. Renters deserve to know what they're agreeing to. And people should be able to compare two apartments without pulling out a calculator to figure out which one actually costs less.

Because when you're choosing where you're going to live, $1,600 and $1,800 aren't the same budget.

Renters shouldn't need a spreadsheet, a surprise bill, or the fine print to figure out what their home actually costs.

The advertised price shouldn't be the beginning of the math problem. It should be the answer.

If you agree that mandatory fees belong in the price, sign this petition and help us tell the FTC: show renters the real price upfront.