Apartments.com Lawsuit Filed Over ‘Junk’ Transaction Fees for Online Rent Payments

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A proposed class action lawsuit alleges that CoStar Realty Information Inc., which does business as Apartments.com, has harmed renters by automatically charging “junk” transaction fees for online rent payments without adequately disclosing that the charges can be avoided and are not permitted by residents’ leases.

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The 20-page complaint contends that when tenants use the property management platform’s payment portal, they are not informed of the existence or amount of the transaction fee until the final payment confirmation screen.

The lawsuit claims that Apartments.com’s transaction fee is deceptively presented in a manner that makes it appear required to properly submit rent payments. Per the suit, the platform fails to clearly disclose any alternative payment methods that would allow renters to circumvent the fee, effectively communicating that it is “mandatory and unavoidable.”

Additionally, the lawsuit alleges that Apartments.com fails to disclose that the transaction fee is not permitted by renters’ leases given it was never disclosed as part of their contracted-for rent payments.

According to the complaint, the fee constitutes “a classic example of a company-imposed ‘junk fee’ that serves solely as a profit generator” without providing any additional value to renters.

“The Transaction Fee is not tethered to any actual processing or expense, nor does it constitute any service not reasonably already included in a residential lease, viz., the ability to make a payment under the lease,” the filing states. “Instead, the fee is a pure profit generator for Defendant.”

To illustrate the growing proliferation of rental “junk fees,” the case cites a 2022 survey by the National Consumer Law Center of attorneys and legal personnel, in which 60 percent of respondents reported observing additional “convenience” fees tied to online rent payments. According to the complaint, some landlords and payment processors have restricted tenants’ ability to pay rent by check or in person, pressuring them to use online payment methods that may have additional fees.

The filing similarly points to Federal Trade Commission guidance warning against deceptive or inadequately disclosed fees that increase the final price consumers pay beyond the amount initially advertised.

The lawsuit argues that the fee practices employed by Apartments.com violate this federal guidance and state consumer protection laws, including the Washington Consumer Protection Act.

The plaintiff, a Washington resident, says she used the Apartments.com online platform to pay rent beginning in November 2025. Per the suit, she was charged a $6.60 transaction fee on a rental payment and believed the charge was mandatory because the site did not clearly disclose that it could be avoided.

“Reasonable consumers like Plaintiff understand the advertised cost for monthly rent to be the total cost of their rent obligation as represented—not the total cost of monthly rent plus an additional, undisclosed charge,” the complaint asserts. “In other words, Defendant’s fee amounts to an additional, unexpected rent for tenants above the amount they contracted for.”

The Apartments.com class action lawsuit seeks to represent all individuals who were charged a transaction fee by the company when making a rent payment during the fullest period allowed by law.

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