Asked to pay bank fees on apartment rental

Are you paying by credit card?

I've had to do that with the final Visa or Paypal payments the three times we have rented in Amsterdam. I can't blame the owner for not wanting to eat the fees and I appreciate not having to scurry around and come up with loads of cash. I'm sure being able to advertise a lower rental price is attractive and then it is up to you how to pay for it.

We have paid cash for the full amount on arrival. Can you ask if that is an option to avoid the fee?

3% on a $1000 rental is $30. Alternative is to go to multiple ATM's on different days and take out the maximum amount and carry it around Paris with it on you. I'd take a 3% fee and pay by credit card in a heart beat. And you get the rewards points (one of the reasons that fees are high) plus scam protection.

BTW, assume you have a credit card that does not charge the "customary" 3 % foreign currency transaction fee.

... Is this legit? ..... When you ask the question, you are kind of implying it is illegal or a scam. In the US, credit card accepting vendors are are prohibited by contract with the credit card processor from "passing along" or charging for the credit card processing fee - around 3% for most, more for A Express. In most of Europe they are free to charge the processing fee and most do. So that is perfectly legal and you should be pleased that you were forewarned instead of being a surprise as it is with most Europeans who face a bunch of unknown taxes being added when they purchase something here. Pay cash and avoid the who question.

Ah thank you so much for the explanation. We hadn't gotten to point of how I'd pay but this makes sense. Would be 3% of $5000 but now that I realize it's to offset charge card fees, perfectly all right. Thanks again! This forum is so helpful!

On an aside, I learn something new every time I read this forum. This time it was "In the US, credit card accepting vendors are are prohibited by contract with the credit card processor from "passing along" or charging for the credit card processing fee - around 3% for most, more for A Express." I did not know that but certainly does explain why the cash price is termed as a 3-5% discount at some places that I frequent. If I pay cash, I get a 3 to 5% discount off the stated price.

That's an extra 150 EU for the privilege of staying in someone's apartment!!!

There should be an approximate charge for each person for the tourist tax.
If you encounter any other charges, such as cleaning or damage deposits, I would look somewhere else.

This thread seems to make a fair argument for using AirBnB which handles payments through credit cards rather than leaving the money negotiations to the customer and landlord. There is no argument, however, that the Paris rental scene is turbulent with government crackdowns, proposed and/or in force.