'Juice this hog': How real estate companies supersized renter fees

In 2014, Marianne Napoles moved into a two-bedroom garden apartment in Eagle Canyon, on the forested slopes of Chino Hills, California. She found the property managers helpful, and the landlord, Equity Residential, lowered her rent by $43 when she renewed in 2020.

Then came the fees, starting with $2 a month for pest removal, then $10 to use her unit's one-car garage — amenities originally included in the rent. The monthly parking charge was hiked to $20, and then she got hit with a $30 charge for compost pickup after Equity hired Valet Living for state-mandated organic waste disposal.

In February, Napoles paid $165 in monthly fees, including water and sewage, up from $44 when she moved in. Her rent rose by about 70% over the decade, while her fees nearly quadrupled.

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by Anonymous

reply 1

May 3, 2025 7:01 PM

[quote] After she wrote an op-ed article about the situation for her employer, the Chino Valley Champion, Napoles' property manager emailed to say the costs were beyond Equity's control: "Our competitors that are REITs they have already been ahead of the game and charging such fees."

[quote] In reality, Equity Residential was an early champion of finding ways to squeeze more money from rentals.

[quote] The company's founder, the late billionaire Sam Zell, predicted 25 years ago that half of revenue for publicly traded residential real estate firms would come from income other than rent. Other huge corporate landlords have adopted the playbook, advertising one amount for rent and then tacking on a range of optional and mandatory costs.

[quote] A 2024 lease from Progress Residential, which manages some 85,000 single-family rentals, is 40-plus pages and includes at least 15 potential fees — for example, $125 for "Lease Administration," a $50 "Lease Application," "Insurance Exemption" fees, and a $75 "trip" fee on top of repair costs billed to tenants.

[quote] Leases reviewed by BI show that last year, Progress added a sentence directing tenants to a website to view a list of potential fees. A Progress spokesperson, Nikki Sloup, said by email that the company discloses "all mandatory fees at the start of the leasing process" but declined to comment on the added language.

Fucking CUNTS!

And this is why I hate the real estate business.

Greedy scammers who always take advantage of people desperate for a place to live.