00:00 President Biden is taking action to crack down on hidden apartment rental fees.
00:05 They say this will bring transparency and promote competition in the rental market.
00:10 The new initiative targets rental fees and aims to protect renters from surprise costs.
00:16 Under these new measures, major rental platforms like Zillow, Apartments.com and AffordableHousing.com
00:23 will now show the total cost of rental units with fees included, not just the base rent.
00:29 They believe this will help avoid any surprise fees for those looking for a place to live or
00:34 for those who just moved in. The Biden administration says renters face many additional
00:40 fees for a variety of services from application fees to pet fees and parking charges. They say
00:47 hidden costs can quickly become a financial strain before prospective tenants can even secure an
00:53 apartment. The administration says this initiative will help marginalized renters such as tenants of
00:58 color and those who are part of the LGBTQ community. According to some studies, renters of
01:05 color are more likely to pay application fees and black and Latino renters were nearly twice as
01:11 likely to apply for multiple apartments compared to their white counterparts. While the introduced
01:17 measure will not directly lower prices, it's meant to promote competition among landlords.
01:23 They hope landlords will lower upfront costs in an effort to compete with each other,
01:28 which would bring costs down for everyone.
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