Steve Welty

Issue# 89

February 2026

Happy Saturday, Housing Heroes!

The headlines say it all: California’s “junk fee” crackdown has been delayed.

If you were bracing for AB 1248 to dramatically change how you structure resident fees in 2026, you can exhale, for now.

Let’s break down what happened, what would have changed, and what this means for you moving forward.

What Was AB 1248?

AB 1248 was California’s proposed “junk fee” bill aimed directly at rental housing.

The goal? Prevent landlords from using add-on fees to sidestep rent caps and make total housing costs harder for residents to understand.

Under the original proposal, for new tenancies starting January 1, 2026, landlords would have been limited to charging only:

Base rent
A security deposit
Local rent-stabilization fees (if authorized by ordinance)
Submetered water charges (if properly billed)

Most recurring add-on fees would have been prohibited.

That includes common line-items like:

Monthly portal fees
Concierge or amenity fees
Trash or pest control pass-throughs
Pet rent
Utility admin fees
Other recurring “add-ons”

Instead, all recurring costs would have needed to be baked directly into the advertised rent.

What “Delayed” Means for 2026

Despite expectations that the bill would move forward this legislative cycle, industry reporting confirms that AB 1248 is not advancing for 2026.

Here’s what that means in practical terms:

The sweeping fee ban is not going into effect in 2026.
There is no statewide compliance deadline requiring you to eliminate your current resident fee structure.
Your existing lawful fees remain permissible under current California law.

In short: nothing changes in 2026.

But Don’t Get Too Comfortable

While AB 1248 is stalled, the political momentum behind “junk fee” reform is very real.

Attorney General Rob Bonta, Assemblymember Matt Haney, and tenant advocacy groups have made fee transparency a high-visibility issue.

Translation: This concept isn’t dead. It’s likely to reappear in some form.

We’ve seen this pattern before in California:
A bill stalls.
It’s revised.
It comes back stronger the following year.

The Bigger Picture

California continues tightening regulations around rent control, pricing transparency, and consumer protections.

Even though AB 1248 is paused, the broader message is clear:

The state is paying close attention to how housing costs are presented and charged.

Operators who proactively simplify and professionalize their pricing models will be in a much stronger position when the next version of this legislation resurfaces.

For Housing Providers

This isn’t a panic moment. It’s a preparation moment.

If you’d like, send us your standard fee schedule (application, pet, parking, RUBS, utility admin, portal, etc.), and we can help identify which items would most likely fall into the crosshairs if this bill comes back.

Staying proactive beats scrambling later.

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P.S. We recently expanded our newsletter into a private Facebook group where we share housing market insights, landlord tips, and behind-the-scenes data from what we’re seeing across California and where you can also connect and interact with other housing providers. We’d love for you to be a part of it.

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