End Junk Fees for Renters Act

This bill would require federal housing agencies to bar owners of rental units that receive federal housing assistance or have federally backed mortgages from charging renters application fees or fees for background and tenant screening checks. Late fees would be allowed only if they are less than 3 percent of monthly rent and only after rent is 15 days overdue, and these limits would have to be stated in new leases. Before a lease is signed, owners would have to disclose the total monthly amount due including fees, a summary of past litigation with tenants, ongoing pest and maintenance issues, and rent increases over the previous 10 years. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Federal Trade Commission would have 180 days to define "junk fee" for rental housing and to treat reporting unpaid junk fees to credit agencies as an unfair debt collection practice.

Full text and official record on Congress.gov

Sponsors

• Maxwell Frost Democrat sponsor
• 27 cosponsors