While rent prices are decreasing in the Valley, Zillow says a one-bedroom apartment in Phoenix will still cost you more than $1,300.
Then there are all those extra fees, and they are not decreasing.
There are package delivery fees, trash fees, amenities fees, and fees to pay for "common area" electricity.
"It seems particularly egregious when the service is something people don't want. Or it's something that they can't opt out of at all," says Ariel Nelson, an attorney with the National Consumer Law Center.
Read the NCLC's in-depth look at rent fees: "Too Damn High: How junk fees add to skyrocketing rents."
In some cases, it seems landlords are just passing on more of their costs to tenants.
ABC15 has been exposing these growing rental fees for months now.
So, what's being done about them? Not much!
At the state level, Representative Analise Ortiz says her bill requiring landlord fee disclosure "didn't receive a hearing and is effectively dead."
Ortiz says she will try again next session.
Federally, there's a new push to crack down on junk rent fees.
So far, it's meant more transparency.
Rental sites like Zillow and Apartments.com agreed to show total monthly costs, including fees.
"That doesn't actually get rid of the fees. There should be restrictions on what fees can be charged. And, you know, I think there should be limits on fees," Nelson says.
But which fees?
ABC15 asked John Kobierowski, president of Phoenix-based Neighborhood Ventures, a real estate investment company that deals in apartment complexes.
He says the government involvement was a surprise to him because from what he sees, many leases are transparent about extra fees upfront.
And he doesn't agree with all of them.
About those common trash valet fees, Kobrierowski says, "I think there's a way tenants should be able to opt-out on that."
He says amenities fees "don't make sense" because amenities should be included in what you get for your rent.
But Kobierowski says pet fees are different because pets can cause damage.
"I think the answer is transparency and communication. And I think that the residents have more negotiating ability than they realize," he says.
Nelson sees something different.
"Tenants don't have a lot of power to do that. They're just trying to find the one place where they can get in," she says.
You can let your state legislators know how you feel about rent fees here.
Do you face crazy fees? Let me know: joe@abc15.com
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