Zillow sued over 'junk fees' added to rent payments

(CN) — A New Jersey woman is suing tech real estate giant Zillow, accusing the company of tacking illegal “junk fees” onto her and others’ rent payments.

Filing her class action in the Superior Court of Washington, D.C., Sara Nour criticized Zillow for purportedly adding meaningless costs to her apartment’s rent, paid through the company’s Zillow Rental Manager service.

“There is a cost-of-living crisis in our country, one that is especially acute in the housing market,” Nour writes in the complaint. “One reason is the relentless imposition of add-on fees in excess of advertised rental rates — including ‘pay to pay’ fees like those at issue in this complaint, wherein consumers are charged add-on junk fees by third party middlemen merely for doing what they are required to do under the terms of their residential leases: make their rent payments.”

According to Nour in suit filed Friday, she previously rented an apartment in D.C., paying her $2,550 rent each month via Zillow Rental Manager. Each time she did so, Zillow charged her an automatically-added transaction fee — labeled a nondescript “card fee” on Nour’s receipt — amounting on at least one occasion to $75.22.

Because Zillow did not “adequately or transparently” present the fee as an optional charge, Nour claims, she paid it every month, believing the charge to be mandatory. She says she would have chosen a different method of rent payment if she had known the fee was avoidable.

“Defendant’s conduct was, and continues to be, fraudulent because it hid, concealed, obfuscated or otherwise disguised additional charges to consumers paying their rent,” she says. “Defendant’s conduct deceived plaintiff and class members into believing that the transaction fee is mandatory when paying their rent, when in reality the transaction fee is untimely disclosed, misleadingly disclosed, excessive and unlawfully charged.”

Filing her complaint both individually and as a representative of all others who were charged a transaction fee by Zillow when paying rent, Nour seeks restitution for the imposed fees; actual, statutory and treble damages, along with an order stopping Zillow from continuing to impose such fees.

A representative for Zillow declined to comment on the lawsuit.

This is not the first time that Zillow has faced litigation over accusations of hidden fees.

In September 2025, Oregon resident Alucard Taylor filed a class action against Zillow for purportedly tricking consumers into using its own agents and charging undisclosed fees in order to artificially increase home prices.

In his complaint, Taylor notes that house listings on Zillow include a “Contact agent” button that quietly routes consumers to a Zillow-affiliated buyer’s agent rather than directly connecting the consumer to the listing agent. After the consumer signs a “touring agreement,” the buyer’s agent arranges a tour of the home.

Despite the touring agreement stating that the buyer’s agent provides free services, that Zillow-affiliated agent receives a commission in the event of a sale. Additionally, if the agent is designated a “Zillow Flex” agent, the agent must pay up to 40% of their commission to Zillow — a payment that is never disclosed to the buyer or seller.

Zillow’s high commission fees then create a domino effect, Taylor claims — if agents receive less of their commission, they charge sellers higher commission fees; and if sellers have to pay higher commission fees, buyers end up footing the bill.

“The effect of Zillow’s policies and conduct is to increase the purchase price of homes for the buyers,” Taylor says in his complaint. “If buyers were directed to sellers’ agents, they would be better positioned to negotiate a lower purchase price, because the seller would not have to pay commissions to the seller’s agent and the buyer’s agent. It also incentivizes Zillow Flex agents to prioritize receiving his/her full commission at all costs, even if the buyer loses the bidding process.”

Litigation between Taylor and Zillow is ongoing.

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