Class action alleges Zillow adds ‘junk fee’ to online rent payments

By Top Class Actions | September 20, 2026

Category: Fees

Closeup of a magnifying glass held over a computer screen displaying the zillow website homepage — (Photo Credit: FotoField/Shutterstock)

Zillow class action lawsuit overview:

Who: Plaintiff Sara Nour filed a class action lawsuit against Zillow Group Inc.
Why: Nour alleges Zillow charges an illegal “junk” fee for rent payments made through its Zillow Rental Manager service.
Where: The Zillow class action lawsuit was removed to the District of Columbia federal court.

A new class action lawsuit alleges Zillow charges an illegal “junk” fee for rent payments made through its Zillow Rental Manager service.

Plaintiff Sara Nour claims the transaction fee is added at the last step of the checkout process, and that Zillow does not provide “fair disclosure” on how to remove the fee, which, she argues, is not permitted by consumers’ residential leases.

“Indeed, the transaction fee amounts to additional, unexpected rent for tenants that is undisclosed in lease agreements,” the Zillow class action lawsuit says.

Nour wants to represent a nationwide class of consumers who were charged a transaction fee by Zillow when making a rent payment as well as a multistate class covering states with similar consumer protection laws and a Washington, D.C., class.

Zillow ‘junk fee’ provides ‘no added value’ to consumers, class action claims

Nour argues Zillow’s transaction fee is a “classic example” of a company-imposed junk fee that serves solely as a profit generator for the company while providing “no added value” to consumers.

She further argues that “at no point during the rental payment process are consumers informed of alternative means to pay their rent to avoid the transaction fee, leading consumers to believe the fee is mandatory and unavoidable,” the Zillow class action lawsuit says.

Nour alleges Zillow was unjustly enriched, tortiously interfered with contracts and violated the Washington Consumer Protection Act, the Washington, D.C., Consumer Protection Procedures Act and state consumer protection statutes.

She demands a jury trial and requests declaratory and injunctive relief and an award of actual and statutory damages and pre-judgment interest, costs and expenses.

In similar online junk fee charges, National Aquarium was accused in Maryland federal court of unlawfully charging a hidden transaction fee on ticket purchases made through its website.

Have you been charged a transaction fee by Zillow when making a rent payment through its online portal? Let us know in the comments.

The plaintiff is represented by Sophia G. Gold and Jeffrey D. Kaliel of KalielGold PLLC and Melissa S. Weiner and Ryan T. Gott of Pearson Warshaw LLP.

The Zillow class action lawsuit is Nour v. Zillow Group Inc., Case No. 1:26-cv-01885, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.