AppFolio class action lawsuit overview:
- Who: Plaintiff Ian Comfort filed a class action lawsuit against AppFolio Inc.
- Why: Comfort claims AppFolio charges tenants a hidden transaction fee to pay rent through its online payment platform without adequately disclosing the charge.
- Where: The lawsuit was filed in California state court and later removed to federal court.
A new class action lawsuit alleges AppFolio charges tenants a hidden transaction fee to process rent payments without properly disclosing the charge.
Plaintiff Ian Comfort claims AppFolio adds the fee at the final checkout step through a “negative option” that assumes consent unless a consumer removes it. He claims the fee amount is not revealed until the final “Confirm” screen, and AppFolio never explains how to avoid it, leading tenants to believe the charge is mandatory.
“[AppFolio’s] transaction fee is deceptive because the defendant does not inform consumers that they are subject to this additional fee that, in fact, is not permitted by their residential leases,” the AppFolio class action lawsuit says.
Comfort claims he has rented a San Francisco apartment since around August 2021 and pays rent monthly through AppFolio’s platform via automatic bank payment.
He alleges AppFolio began charging him the fee on July 31, 2023, without his consent, and that he was charged $2.49 for it on Sept. 1, 2025. Comfort and class members claim they suffered economic harm by paying more for rent than they otherwise would have.
Comfort originally filed the lawsuit in San Francisco County Superior Court before AppFolio removed the case to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
AppFolio’s hidden transaction not tied to any service, lawsuit claims
The class action lawsuit argues the hidden fee is not tied to any real service AppFolio provides. “The transaction fee is merely a second payment — in the form of a junk fee — for the convenience that consumers are already paying for,” the lawsuit says.
The complaint argues for California’s 2024 expansion of the Consumers Legal Remedies Act, known as the Honest Pricing Law, which bars advertising a price that excludes mandatory hidden fees. Comfort claims AppFolio’s practice amounts to illegal drip pricing because the full cost is not disclosed until deep into the payment process.
Comfort seeks to represent a nationwide class and a California subclass of consumers charged the hidden fee by AppFolio.
The class action lawsuit alleges violation of California’s Unfair Competition Law and Consumers Legal Remedies Act, tortious interference with contract and unjust enrichment. Comfort and the class demand a jury trial and seek restitution, disgorgement, damages and injunctive relief.
In a related case, a consumer claims CoStar Realty Information, the owner of Apartments.com, charged her an undisclosed $6.60 transaction fee on her rental payment.
Have you ever paid an AppFolio transaction fee to make a rent payment? Let us know in the comments.
The plaintiff is represented by Sophia G. Gold, Amanda J. Rosenberg and Jeffrey D. Kaliel of KalielGold PLLC and Melissa S. Weiner and Ryan T. Gott of Pearson Warshaw LLP.
The AppFolio class action lawsuit is Comfort v. AppFolio Inc., Case No. 3:26-cv-04277-TSH, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
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2 thoughts onAppFolio class action alleges hidden fees on rent payments
I’ve paid rent through appfolio for about 5 years starting from 2019 thru 2024. I would like to be part of this class action lawsuit.
I paid rent through folio for 13 years starting in 2011 and ending in 2025. I’ve paid many fees that I shouldn’t have. I would like to be part of this class action. My new address is 1722 W. 236th St., Torrance, CA 90501.