TL;DR
- On and after January 1, 2027, City guidance extends coverage to a person who rents, leases, or manages 5–49 dwellings used as residences, or residential mobile-home/RV spaces. Confirm the provider’s coverage and City jurisdiction.
- Covered providers must give prospective tenants written, itemized mandatory, optional, and estimated variable fees before quoting rent or accepting applications.
- Advertisements that include a rent figure must list mandatory recurring fixed fees alongside it. The full written disclosure serves a broader purpose.
- Prepare the City’s Standard Disclosure Form and test how applicants receive it. A website can help, but its information must be accessible, clearly hyperlinked, and delivered to the prospective tenant.
If you own or manage Austin rentals, the January 1, 2027 expansion is a reason to review the entire path from an advertisement to an application. Adding fee language at lease signing does not address the City’s earlier disclosure requirement. First establish whether the provider and property fall within the rule; then make the fee schedule, advertisements, rent-quote process and application steps agree. These requirements come from City of Austin implementation guidance, checked November 3, 2026.
What a rent advertisement and written disclosure need to show
Consider a hypothetical covered provider preparing an advertisement. Base rent is $1,800 per month, with mandatory recurring fixed monthly fees of $75 for trash/recycling, $30 for amenities and $15 for technology. Rent plus those fixed fees totals $1,920 per month. These are illustrative amounts, not an Austin market-price estimate.
Under the City’s advertising guidance, an ad stating the $1,800 rent must list the mandatory recurring fixed fees alongside it. A useful presentation for this example would be:
Base rent: $1,800/month. Mandatory recurring fixed fees: trash/recycling $75/month; amenity $30/month; technology $15/month. Rent plus mandatory recurring fixed fees: $1,920/month. Optional charges and variable utilities are additional and disclosed separately.
The $1,920 figure is not an all-inclusive housing cost. The written disclosure must separately identify optional fees and estimated variable fees. The City classifies utilities as variable fees with ranges. That distinction lets a prospective tenant see which costs are fixed, which depend on a choice and which can change.
The practical choice is how to present an accurate offer consistently across channels. Leading with base rent still requires the mandatory recurring fixed fees alongside it. Showing a combined fixed-cost total can make budgeting easier, but retain the itemized fees and identify excluded costs so the total does not imply that utilities or optional charges are included.
Confirm coverage before treating each property as a separate count
The City’s January 1, 2027 guidance names a person who rents, leases, or manages 5–49 dwellings used as residences, or residential mobile-home/RV spaces. It also says providers with fewer than five dwellings are excluded.
Keep that subject in view: the guidance names the person renting, leasing or managing dwellings. Do not decide coverage solely from the number of units at one address. The supplied guidance does not resolve how a particular ownership or management arrangement should be counted, or establish a space-count threshold for every mobile-home/RV arrangement.
This is a City of Austin issue, not an Austin-metro-wide rule. For a portfolio spanning Austin and surrounding communities, identify which properties are inside City jurisdiction and how the dwellings are held or managed. If the jurisdiction or counting question is unresolved, take those specific facts to the City or the provider’s counsel before concluding that the provider is excluded. This article is a preparation guide, not a property-specific legal determination.
Put the disclosure before the rent quote and application
The City says covered providers must give prospective tenants a written, itemized list of mandatory, optional, and estimated variable fees before quoting rent or accepting applications. It directs landlords, property managers and owners to its Standard Disclosure Form. Use the form linked from the City’s ordinance page; recheck that page’s form and FAQ before deploying your process because implementation guidance may change.
For the hypothetical rental above, a prospect responding to the ad needs more than the displayed fixed fees. Arrange delivery of the full written disclosure before the leasing team quotes rent or accepts the application. If the prospect moves to a third-party platform, the City says the prospective tenant must receive electronic or physical written disclosure before applying or paying through that platform.
A portal therefore belongs in the review even if another company operates it. Walk through the actual applicant path: where is the disclosure received, and can the applicant reach an application or payment step first? If that path bypasses delivery, change the sequence before relying on it.
Choose a delivery method you can keep current
An electronic process can make a shared fee schedule easier to update across leasing staff and channels. Its weak point is delivery: a link that staff know exists may never reach the applicant. A physical written disclosure can fit an in-person process, but printed copies can become outdated when fees change. Neither format removes the need to deliver current information at the required time.
Use this preparation checklist to expose specific gaps:
- Inventory the charges. List mandatory, optional, and estimated variable fees for the rental. Identify utilities as variable fees with ranges, following the City’s guidance.
- Reconcile the advertising. Find every advertisement that states rent and check that mandatory recurring fixed fees appear alongside it.
- Place delivery in the leasing sequence. Use the Standard Disclosure Form and establish how the prospective tenant receives written disclosure before a rent quote or application.
- Test third-party steps. Confirm receipt of electronic or physical written disclosure before the prospective tenant applies or pays through a third-party platform.
- Assign an update owner. As an operational practice, have someone update the form, ads, website information and leasing instructions together when the fee schedule changes.
The last step matters after January 1 as well. Preparing a form once does not keep later advertisements or printed copies consistent. Recheck the City’s current guidance and your own applicant path when changing fees, vendors or leasing software.
Frequently asked questions
Does a concessions-only advertisement need fee disclosure?
The City says a concessions-only ad without a rent amount does not need fee disclosure. That exception applies to the advertisement. Covered providers still must give prospective tenants the written, itemized disclosure before quoting rent or accepting applications. See the City’s advertising and disclosure guidance.
Can a website supply the written disclosure?
The City says website disclosure is acceptable only when the information is accessible, clearly hyperlinked, and delivered to the prospective tenant. Publishing a page alone does not establish delivery. Build the link into the prospect’s communication path and retain the required timing before quoting rent or accepting applications. The City also specifies electronic or physical written disclosure before a prospective tenant applies or pays through a third-party platform. See the City’s implementation guidance.
Sources
- City of Austin Equity and Inclusion: Rental Fee Transparency Ordinance — coverage, January 1, 2027 expansion, Standard Disclosure Form, advertising and delivery guidance. Checked November 3, 2026; implementation guidance may change.
Recommended reading
- Considering redevelopment of a rental property? Austin Renters and Rental Owners: Is a Redevelopment Project Subject to Tenant-Relocation Notice Rules?
- Considering a purchase with additional dwelling potential? Austin ADU Potential: What Buyers Must Verify Before Paying Extra
Buying or selling an Austin rental property? Contact Vladimir Baibus · ATXCasa, LPT Realty for help comparing properties and identifying the jurisdiction, fee-schedule and leasing-process questions to resolve before your next housing decision.