Baltimore City has filed a lawsuit against Yardi Systems LLC, RentCafe LLC and Pennrose Management Company LLC, accusing the companies of charging renters hidden fees just to pay their rent. The city alleges the practice amounts to a mandatory “pay-to-pay” scheme that quietly raises the cost of housing for tenants across the city, including in buildings set aside for lower-income residents.
According to the lawsuit as reported by WMAR-2 News, Yardi Systems and RentCafe jointly sell the RentCafe platform, which hundreds of Baltimore rental properties use to process rent payments. Pennrose Management Company, meanwhile, owns and manages hundreds of rental units for lower-income renters in Baltimore, putting it at the center of the city's complaint as both a property manager and an alleged beneficiary of the fee structure.
Pennrose says it has worked since 1971 to create safe, secure housing communities for working families. The company also provides multifamily property management. Pennrose’s company history and multifamily property-management work provide context for the dispute.
Fees Buried in Fine Print, City Alleges
The complaint claims RentCafe steers tenants toward payment methods that generate additional fees, while making those charges difficult to find. Per the same account, information about the fees can be spread across several webpages, placed in fine print, or not disclosed until the final step of the payment process, leaving renters unaware of what they're being charged until the transaction is nearly complete.
Baltimore City Solicitor Ebony Thompson said renters should not need to navigate multiple webpages and fine print just to identify charges, according to the dossier of claims tied to the case. The city argues those design choices violate Baltimore's Consumer Protection Ordinance, which governs how businesses must disclose costs to consumers.
Baltimore’s code bars unfair, abusive or deceptive trade practices in the sale or rental of consumer real estate and services, as well as in collecting consumer debt. That broader prohibition supplies the legal framework the city invokes; whether the alleged fee disclosures and payment options violate it will be for the court to assess. The city code’s list of covered transactions includes both rental property and consumer services.
Nearly 50 Affordable Properties Affected
The lawsuit alleges that most tenants who are encouraged or required to use RentCafe end up paying a nonrefundable service fee every month. Of the hundreds of Baltimore properties that rely on the platform to process rent payments, the complaint states that nearly 50 are income-restricted properties or buildings with affordable units, meaning the fees fall disproportionately on renters with the least room in their budgets.
Baltimore argues those charges effectively increase what renters have to pay each month, even though the fees are layered on top of the rent amount itself rather than built into it. Mayor Brandon Scott said the fees effectively raise rent for thousands of Baltimore residents, framing the lawsuit as an effort to hold businesses accountable for deceptive practices and protect residents' money.
What Comes Next
A 2026 Illinois appellate case, Arcangel v. Yardi Systems, Inc., involved Yardi Systems. That case is separate from Baltimore’s lawsuit.
The case adds Pennrose's large footprint of lower-income housing to a legal fight centered on how RentCafe discloses — or fails to disclose — fees tied to rent payments.
