Federal Bill Targets Rental Fees

Congressman Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.-10) has introduced the End Junk Fees for Renters Act, aimed to prohibit the collection of application fees, resident screening fees and late fees. The bill even goes a step further to require that any late fee collected shall be applied to the amount of rent due for the following month as a credit. Congressman Frost was joined by Congressman Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.-34) and 11 Democratic Members of Congress as co-sponsors on this bill. 

Congressman Frost’s legislation also limits housing providers’ ability to evaluate conventional resident screening criteria such as credit scores or any consumer report, and the bill includes required disclosures, which can have significant operational effects.

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