2026 Legislative Sessions Recap: continued

This is Part II of our 2026 legislative roundup. In our previous article, titled 2026 Legislative Roundup and published in May, several of the most consequential bills were still moving: Illinois HB 3564 was on the governor's desk, Virginia HB 95 was awaiting signature, and Maryland's Fair Chance Housing Act was sitting in committee. Sessions have since adjourned and governors have signed. Here is where those bills landed, plus the ones that passed after Part I was posted.

Three years ago, the rental fee debate was about disclosure. In 2026, legislatures stopped asking operators to explain their fees and started telling them which fees they cannot charge at all, or imposed restrictions. Illinois enumerated a list of banned charges. Virginia added restrictions on past-due rent. New Jersey made algorithmic rent-setting an antitrust violation.

Fees moved from disclosure to prohibition

Illinois enacted the Rental Fee Transparency and Limitations Act (HB 3564) on June 26, 2026, with a companion bill moving the effective date to January 1, 2027. Every non-optional fee must appear on page one of the lease, and a tenant is not liable for any fee that is missing. The law also bans a specific list of charges: 

• application fees over $50 
• lease renewal and modification fees
• after-hours and routine maintenance fees
• move-in/move-out walkthrough fees
• fees for contacting management
  
  

Renaming a banned fee does not work, and enforcement runs through a private right of action with attorney's fees.

Entrata^Ⓡ has Fee Transparency tools that let operators configure advertised pricing, fee classification, and disclosure at the property level, then clone those settings across a multi-state portfolio. 

Rent-setting algorithms crossed into antitrust law

Governor Sherrill signed New Jersey's FAIR Act (S-451) on July 20, 2026, making it a New Jersey Antitrust Act violation for rental property owners and third-party software providers from using nonpublic, competitor-sourced data to generate or recommend residential rental pricing or occupancy levels. The Attorney General must set up a public complaints portal, and the law takes effect on the first day of the twelfth month after enactment. New Jersey is the fourth state to explicitly regulate rent-setting algorithms. 

Local governments are moving too. Rockville, Maryland adopted the state's first municipal ban, effective January 1, 2027, alongside new restrictions on payment-processing and administrative fees.

Entrata Revenue Intelligence is already built to be compliant with new algorithmic pricing laws. Coordinate configurations with your legal team. Then let the platform apply those settings consistently across every market you operate in.

Screening and fair housing tightened in Maryland

Maryland's SB 937, the Fair Chance Housing Act, takes effect October 1, 2026 for operators with five or more units and requires a two-tier screening process built around a conditional offer. We walked through the mechanics in New Tenant Screening and Rental Operations Rules Are Raising the Bar for Property Teams. Two additional companion bills deserve equal attention: HB 315/SB 335 bars refusing voucher holders based on credit score or pre-subsidy credit history and requires operators with six or more units to offer positive rent reporting, and HB 573 codifies disparate-impact liability, meaning seemingly neutral screening criteria and fee structures now need documented business justification.

ResidentVerify^Ⓡ supports two-tier screening workflows with consistent criteria application. 

Notice and habitability mechanics

Virginia HB 15 extended the nonpayment cure period from five days to 14 effective July 1, 2026, so any notice template still referencing five days can jeopardize an unlawful detainer action. Virginia HB 95 requires the landlord to serve a written notice stating the exact amount due and owed if rent is unpaid and the exact amount owed is less than or equal to one month's rent plus contracted late charges. Maryland's SB 12 requires air conditioning in buildings with 10 or more units, capable of holding habitable space at or below 80°F from June 1 through September 30. Washington's SB 6200 bars landlords from prohibiting portable cooling units or charging for their installation.

What to do next

The 2026 direction is clear: regulators are auditing the mechanics of operation while focusing less on policy documents. The common thread across these bills is a push toward greater transparency in fees, utility billing, and screening practices, and tenant protections. Staying ahead of these changes means reviewing your lease templates, fee structures, billing procedures, and screening workflows well before the effective dates arrive.

Go In-depth

The Entrata Compliance Team has compiled an in-depth analysis of the legislation discussed in this post for clients. For a detailed look at each bill, please visit the Entrata Help Center and navigate to: Compliance section > Compliance Blog Posts > Expanded Blog Posts.

Entrata is Here to Help

For additional news and updates related to rental regulation changes, current clients may visit the Compliance Center (Entrata login required). This resource is available to all clients and will be continuously updated to reflect new legal developments in the multifamily industry in 2026 and beyond.