Colorado now makes landlords advertise the real price. Eighteen other states are trying.

The advertised rent and the rent you pay have drifted apart for years, filled in with administrative charges, common area fees, package fees and pet rent. States have started legislating the gap closed.

Colorado went furthest. Under a law that took effect January 1, 2026, landlords have to advertise a single all-in price that folds in every mandatory and unavoidable cost, in both listings and leases. If a tenant has to pay it to use the apartment, it belongs in the number on the ad.

What the state laws actually do

Disclosure rules are the most common, they require the fee to appear up front so renters can compare listings honestly.

Application fee limits target the charge renters hit first, and Vermont bans them outright. Several states cap them at the landlord's actual screening cost, and states including California, Minnesota and Washington require refunds within a set window when no screening was run or another applicant was already chosen. Colorado's law also lets renters reuse a background check for up to 30 days.

Outright bans on specific recurring charges are rarer at the state level and more common in cities. Seattle banned pet rent and package fees in 2026, though the rules don't take effect until July 2027.

According to a Newsweek tally, at least 19 states have introduced protections limiting hidden rental fees, including California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Virginia and Washington.

Why all-in pricing matters more than a ban

Banning a fee tends to relocate it rather than remove it, because a landlord who can't charge $40 a month for an amenity fee can raise base rent by $40, and the tenant's total doesn't move. That's the standard industry response and it's largely correct.

All-in pricing does something a ban can't manage. It makes the advertised number comparable across buildings, which restores the one thing renters lost when fees proliferated: the ability to shop. If every listing in Colorado now quotes a real total, a renter comparing two apartments is comparing the same thing again.

That also matters for anyone measuring this market, ourselves included. When advertised prices exclude a few hundred dollars in required monthly charges, every rent comparison is off by that amount before it starts, which we worked through in what utilities and insurance really add to rent.

The practical step if you're renting right now is to ask for a written total of every mandatory monthly charge before you sign, whatever your state requires. In most of the country that request is still the only protection you have.

Sources

• Newsweek, for the tally of states with laws limiting rental fees

• Otten Johnson Robinson Neff and Ragonetti, for the terms of Colorado HB25-1090 effective January 1, 2026

• CoStar, for the background-check reuse provision and legislative history