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OPTECH week is when a lot of next year's leasing tech decisions get made. You'll walk past dozens of booths in three days at the MGM Grand, and many of them will say "compliance." The useful question is whether they can show it in a demo.
Software is now part of that question. On December 9, 2025, the FTC sent warning letters to 13 property management software providers. The letters said software that leaves mandatory fees out of the total monthly price may be breaking the law. So how a platform shows price is now part of how you evaluate it.
Bring these seven questions to every demo.
1. "Show me where the total monthly price appears." Not base rent. The all-in monthly number, with every mandatory fee in it. In Massachusetts, the total price has to be shown more prominently than any other pricing information. If the vendor has to click around to find it, your prospects will too.
2. "How do you classify a fee as mandatory, optional or variable?" Austin's ordinance uses exactly those three categories. Massachusetts treats a fee that's on by default, where the renter has to opt out, as mandatory. Ask who sets the classification and whether it can differ by property.
3. "How do you handle a portfolio that spans five jurisdictions?" Colorado, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Austin already have fee rules in effect. Illinois and Seattle are next. They don't all ask for the same thing. Ask how rules are set by property, and who updates them when a law changes.
4. "When does the renter see the fees: before or after they pay to apply?" Austin requires the itemized disclosure before an application is submitted. The FTC's Greystar order requires fee details and the total monthly price before taking any payment. If fees first show up at lease signing, keep looking.
5. "Does the lease match the listing?" For Illinois leases signed on or after January 1, 2027, every non-optional fee has to be on page one of the lease, and a tenant isn't liable for one that isn't. The disclosure, the application and the lease need to show the same number.
6. "How many systems am I connecting?" Applications in one tool, screening in another, leases in a third. Every handoff is a place where the disclosed fee can drift from the charged one. Ask which steps the vendor runs itself, and what's checked at the handoff to your PMS.
7. "What happens when a law changes?" Ask who updates your fee and disclosure rules, how your team finds out, and whether updates cost extra.
Want the longer version of these questions? Read our buyer's guide to leasing compliance platforms.
Ask us at Startup Booth K6
We built NOVY around these questions because our team ran properties and lived the handoffs first. NOVY runs applications, fee transparency, screening, and lease generation as one governed leasing workflow, so configured charges carry from the listing into the lease. (See Fee Transparency)
Find us at Startup Booth K6, November 16–18.
- Book time with us at OPTECH and get one giveaway entry. Book a demo for after the show and get five more. Two winners each pick one prize: Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses, an Oura Ring, a DJI Osmo Pocket 3, a Dyson Airwrap, or a Ninja CREAMi. Book now
- Catch Shawn Massie's fast pitch. Our President & CIO shows what the team has built in the Marketing, Leasing and Resident Engagement session: Monday, November 16, 1:00–2:00 PM, Boulevard 170. The pitches run back-to-back so that you can catch them all.
Bring your hardest question. We'd rather answer it at the booth than have you find out after you've signed.
No purchase necessary. U.S. residents 18+. Two winners, one prize each, selected at random on December 31, 2026, and notified by email. Prizes ship after the drawing. Void where prohibited. Full rules: gonovy.io/legal#giveaway