- New MAA Junk Fee Regulations Require Landlords to Disclose Fees
The Massachusetts Attorney General has issued a new set of rules, effective today, to regulate the imposition of additional charges, often critically referred to as “junk fees,” in connection with the advertising, marketing or offering of “Products,” defined to specifically include “dwelling units available for rent or lease.” The essence of the rule is that landlords will be required to “Clearly and Conspicuously” disclose the “Total Price” which the tenant will be required to pay, “inclusive of all fees, charges, or other expenses.” The disclosure needs to be made when the rental amount is initially advertised or otherwise revealed and before the tenant is required to “provide any personal information.”
The regulations include a lengthy listing of what’s expected in order for a disclosure to qualify as clear and conspicuous, including the following:
• The disclosure must be readily noticeable and understandable by ordinary consumers.
• The size, location and other characteristics of a written disclosure must stand out from any accompanying text or other visual elements (e.g., larger, boldface text).
• An oral or other audible disclosure must be delivered in a “volume, speed, and cadence sufficient for ordinary consumers to readily hear and understand it.”
• Any disclosure using the Internet or another interactive electronic medium must be “unavoidable.”
• The disclosure must be made in the same language used in the remainder of the applicable advertisement or other document.
• The disclosure may not be contradicted by or inconsistent with anything else in the communication.
• The disclosure must recite the nature, purpose and amount of any additional charges.
• If a particular charge is optional, the disclosure must explain how it can be avoided by the tenant.
A landlord may opt to include a fee as part of the rent, in which case no special disclosure need be made. For example, a landlord who wants to charge $1,500 in monthly rent plus an additional $100 amenity fee may elect to simply increase the rent to $1,600.
Another section of the new rule relates to “Negative Options” where a consumer has been given an option “to reject a good or service or to cancel or non-renew an agreement.” In such cases, the consumer must be reminded of the option prior to the last date on which it can be exercised. A “simple mechanism” for exercising the option (for example, via the Internet or by telephone) must be provided. These protections will apply to a tenant’s right not to renew a self-extending lease as well as a tenant’s right to terminate a tenancy at will.
