Understanding Zillow’s New Total Price Display: What Rental Housing Providers Need to Know

zillow rentals fee transparency

Zillow Rental Manager

August 25, 2025

3 min read

At Zillow, we’re dedicated to giving our housing provider partners greater control, flexibility, and clarity in how rental pricing is displayed. We are rolling out a new pricing capability that clearly shows renters a calculated total monthly price1 — the base rent plus fixed, required monthly fees. 

This total price will appear as the prominent price renters see, clearly marked with a "Total price" badge and checkmark, reinforcing accuracy and transparency. This enhancement not only supports evolving state regulations around fee transparency, but also reflects rising renter expectations. In fact, 94% of renters agree that listings should clearly display all fees upfront.

1. Total price reflects a 12-month lease. Required monthly fees exclude variable usage-based fees and fees for optional services.

Zillow's Total Price badge and checkmark

Why this change?

As of September 2025, Massachusetts requires all rental listings to display the total monthly cost, including base rent and any required monthly fees. Connecticut implemented a similar requirement in October 2025, and Colorado will follow in January 2026.

This requirement reflects a broader shift toward pricing transparency in the rental market. Zillow will soon give all housing providers across the country the option to enable total price on their listings. This helps meet evolving renter expectations and supports compliance where regulations apply.

Why it matters

Transparent pricing helps renters accurately budget and make informed decisions. This increased transparency can lead to better-informed renters, higher-quality leads, and reduced inbound questions about fees, ultimately saving time and streamlining the rental process for both renters and housing providers.

How it works

For multifamily partners

To display total price on your listings, follow these steps: 

  1. Ensure fee data is shared with Zillow by doing one of the following:
    • Syndicate your fee data through your PMS software (e.g., Entrata, RealPage, RentCafe), a custom Zillow feed, or through Engrain’s fee data API. Find out more about fee data syndication to Zillow here.
    • Manage fee data directly through Zillow Account Portal. Follow this step-by-step guide to learn how to update your fee data.
  2. Check your Costs & Fees breakdown
    • Review your listings to confirm that required fees display correctly.
    • This breakdown also shows renters which fees are optional or variable, helping set the right expectations.
  3. Enable “Total price” display
    • Toggle on the total price in your Zillow Account Portal.
    • If enabled, renters will see the “Total price” badge and checkmark on your listings across Zillow search results, property detail pages, saved homes, and emails starting. 
Zillow account portal

For partners using Zillow Rental Manager

Zillow Rental Manager (ZRM) customers in Massachusetts and Connecticut are now able to activate total price to help comply with the state regulation. Customers in Colorado can begin enabling total price in late December. This capability will expand to other states in the coming months. To display total price on your ZRM listings, follow these steps:

  1. Enter fee data directly in Zillow Rental Manager
    • Add base rent and any required monthly fees using the existing Costs & Fees tools. Follow this step-by-step guide to learn how to update your fee data.
  2. Review your Costs & Fees breakdown
    • Check that your listings reflect the correct required fees. 
  3. Confirm the fee information you’ve provided is complete and accurate
    • Once you confirm your base rent and required monthly fees, your listings will show the “Total price” badge on Zillow. 

Zillow will feature prominent banners across the site introducing total monthly price and encouraging renters to look for listings with the "Total price" badge. To give renters the most accurate view of your property, we strongly encourage you to provide your fee information and enable total price as soon as possible.

If you do not take action on listings in Massachusetts and Connecticut, they will show a “Fees may apply” tag. This signals to renters that some required costs may be missing from the advertised price, which can create uncertainty and reduce renter confidence.

zillow rental manager costs & fees

Zillow's commitment to transparency

Zillow is committed to supporting our partners through regulatory changes and evolving renter expectations. This new pricing capability is part of our ongoing effort to deliver clarity and transparency, benefiting both renters and housing providers.

This blog post is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended as legal advice. Zillow does not guarantee the applicability of the information provided to your specific circumstances. For questions about your obligations under the law, we recommend consulting a qualified attorney or legal professional.

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