Sophie Charlton nearly signed a couple of leases with her boyfriend, Sergio Castillo, last spring at apartments they thought were in their price range.
But while reading over the leases, they saw they’d be responsible for paying an additional $100 to $260 a month in extra charges for things like internet service or a portion of utilities — all of which, she said, would make their rent “significantly more expensive” than the listed price.
“We have a pretty tight budget, so when we were looking at places, we were doing the math with the amount they told us,” Charlton said. “Then they tack on the extra fees, and we had to wonder whether we could swing it.”
They ended up renting an apartment in Draper with the lowest fees they could find.
Even so, fees for internet, a washer and dryer that Charlton describes as “terrible,” and utilities charged through the landlord add about 10% to their monthly base rent of $1,351. They can afford that with what they make as a retail manager and construction estimator, she said, but the fees did make things harder.
Consumer advocates have decried these fees for years as a bait-and-switch that puts housing even more out of reach for prospective tenants. Dozens of Utahns told The Salt Lake Tribune in a survey that the fees can add up — sometimes to as much as $500 on top of their monthly rent.
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Sophie Charlton, right, and Sergio Castillo stand in front of their apartment building in Draper on Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. This complex had the lowest fees when they were apartment hunting.
Now, Utah lawmakers are trying to tackle those charges in rentals and many other industries through HB29. The bill, which passed the House with a nearly unanimous vote, would require people who provide goods, services or property to include mandatory charges in the advertised price in a noticeable and understandable way.
Rep. Tyler Clancy, the Provo Republican who’s sponsoring the bill, said the goal is to ensure that “the price you see is the price you pay.”
Paul Smith, executive director of the Utah Rental Housing Association that represents thousands of landlords and that lobbies on their behalf, said they are “all for transparency.” The group didn’t express concerns about the bill during the interim session meetings last June or October, where it originated.
“Landlords in Utah should disclose all their fees upfront,” he said.
Complicated budgeting
When Craig Pyle was renting while a college student in Utah in the late 1980s and mid 1990s, he said, the rental process was straightforward, and he paid only the amount that was on his lease as originally advertised.
It’s different for his kids, he said, who are in their 20s and living in Salt Lake City.
Pyle has cosigned as a guarantor on several leases for his children, including one for his daughter at a downtown Salt Lake City apartment complex where she paid more than $300 in February in extra fees and pays a similar amount each month. Those covered everything from the internet to abbreviations that they initially didn’t understand, like “CAE,” which stands for “common-area electric.”
“It’s actually kind of maddening,” he said.
The charges also change month to month, Pyle said, which makes it harder for his kids to budget.
That can make for potentially dire situations for families, Clancy said when talking about the proposed legislation on the House floor.
Families working to make ends meet may see an apartment advertised for $1,200, he said, and spend several weeks preparing for the move, only to get to the lease signing and be given a new price that’s outside their budget.
“And now all of a sudden that advertised price is actually inflated by maybe $300 or $400,” Clancy said. “These are situations where you can put families in really precarious positions, where we shouldn’t have to deal with that.”
‘Simple and straightforward’
The proposed law is “simple and straightforward,” Katie Hass told lawmakers during an interim meeting in October.
Hass leads the Utah Division of Consumer Protection, which would enforce the law if it passes and would have the authority to fine violators up to $2,500 per incident.
The bill would require suppliers to “conspicuously disclose the total price when offering, displaying, or advertising the price of a product” and to clearly describe the purpose of mandatory and ancillary charges.
That would apply not only to leases, but also to food delivery service fees, hotel resort fees, event ticket fees and charges across other industries serving consumers.
In the case of rent, the bill provides an exception for utilities – but not for amenities like landscaping or a hot tub, that are controlled by the landlord. The bill doesn’t specify which services should and shouldn’t be disclosed.
Pat Garofalo, director of state and local policy at the American Economic Liberties Project, said Utah’s bill is strong and “gets the concept exactly right.”
The nonprofit organization, which pushes for corporate-accountability legislation, has taken aim at junk fees and has seen similar laws play out in other places. About a half-dozen other states are considering legislation similar to Utah’s bill, while California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Rhode Island and Virginia already have laws in place.
Garofalo has talked with Clancy about the legislation and said it doesn’t have too many exemptions and, most importantly, includes a requirement to disclose the final price up front.
Landlords ‘way ahead’ of the curve
Charlton thinks the proposed legislation “absolutely” would have simplified her apartment search.
And Pyle said it would have made it “easier to understand what you’re getting into when you sign the contract.”
Landlords are tracking the bill, said Smith with the rental association, and they agree with the need for transparency in pricing. He said that they’re already “way ahead” of the curve in disclosing total costs.
Smith pointed to a 2021 law that addresses the issue. Landlords worked with former Rep. Marsha Judkins, now the mayor of Provo, on the law that requires disclosure of fees when someone applies for a unit, he said. The legislation under consideration now would require that those fees be disclosed when the rental is advertised, not just before someone applies for a lease.
Smith warns that the proposed requirements would make the rental process unwieldy, with landlords having to include “4,000 words that no one is going to read” in their advertisements.
Because the bill came out of an interim committee, it bypassed some of the process and passed through the House on a vote of 70-3 in January. It is now assigned to the Senate Business and Labor Committee.