Excessive up front fees

By Glenda Brown

              My son and friend have found an apartment they wish to rent.  Property manager sent the lease for them to sign that briefly mentioned a tenant addendum that they were not provided.  I advised them NOT to sign until they saw the addendum.  When they finally sent the addendum, the additonal fees to be charged seemed more like gouging.  For instance, they are to be charged $25 to turn on utilities and $25 to turn on cable TV, and all utilities and cable TV are included in the rent, and all of the bills are in the landlords name.  There IS NO turning on of the utilities or TV.  In addition to the non-refundable application fee of $50, there is a $100 additional administrative fee that had to be paid just to apply.  There is also a $150 fee PER TENANT (total of $300 to my son and roomate) call an assignment fee.  Then there is a $3.50 fee per month for billing.  I’ve been in property management for 35 years myself, and I’ve never seen an assignment fee or billing fee.  What really upsets me is that both prospective tenant and landlord agreed to a one year lease, but when the lease was written it is to start 6 July 2013 and end 31 July 2014, which exceeds one year.  But less than a year’s lease costs additional money per month.  As a property manager myself, I prorate, so if the I as the landlord does not have the unit ready for the tenant until 6 July, the the lease ends 5 July, or ONE YEAR.  This is the state of TX.  Are these practices unlawful in TX?  Am I right to feel the landlord is taking advantage?  These apartments are across the highway from a college and adjacent to a major military installation.

Advice please??

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