Members of the Ann Arbor Tenants Union (AATU) and allied organizations gathered in front of Ann Arbor City Hall to announce the “Trash the Junk Fees” campaign which aims to ban rental junk fees in Ann Arbor and across Michigan. Leading up to the campaign launch, the AATU documented exorbitant waitlist fees, some costing nearly $7,000.

The AATU presented its petition demands aimed at Ann Arbor City Council and the Michigan State Legislature and taped a copy of the petition to the front door of the office of Campus Management Inc, a local landlord charging waitlist fees costing $6,745. To finish, the AATU named and shamed many of the local landlords charging junk fees, announcing the names of the presidents and CEO’s of each company, presenting their photos, and throwing the photos in a trash can.

“Rent prices have skyrocketed unchecked and on top of that landlords have introduced a multitude of opaque fees that rarely reflect actual services provided,” says Rosanita Ratcliff, the newly elected chair of the Ann Arbor Renters Commission. “Rental junk fees are part of a system of fees that punishes poverty and entrenches inequality… This burden falls most heavily on those who can least afford it. Low income renters, renters of color, families on fixed incomes, older adults, people with disabilities and first generation students.”

"Among their tenants, McKinley is notorious for surprise fees. They charge admin fees, trash fees, sewage and water fees, among others with zero transparency about where the amounts came from. If you ask for an itemization they will not provide it," said Lauren Gaboury, a member of the McKinley Tenant Association. "These fees can add 50 dollars or more per month to a renters bill and are not included in any price estimates provided before signing a lease."

"I have four roommates and we each paid 350 dollars to even apply to live in the apartment we were interested in,” said Breah Willy, sophomore at the University of Michigan and member of the Michigan Institute for Progressive Policy. “It was devastating to know I would never see my 350 dollars again. If I'm being completely honest after signing my lease in September I broke down in tears. Not only did I have to pay $450 in fees before I'd even signed my lease, but the cost of my rent is unobtainable… Rent can be bargained for but secretive fees cannot."

Breah shared her findings in researching policies to address housing inequities in Michigan. "In other American states like Massachusetts and Vermont, all application fees are banned… This is not an issue that the City Council is blind to. In 2023 the Ann Arbor Renters Commission released a report recommending that the City Council prohibit landlords from charging any pre-tenancy fees besides the refundable security deposit."

"We're not just here pushing against these specific fees,” says Justin Yuan, co-chair of the Huron Valley Democratic Socialists of America and a member of the McKinley Tenant Association, “ we're building a movement. A movement of working people, a working class movement that is able to fundamentally challenge power and is able to challenge the power of the landlords and win a better deal for ourselves."