Apartment application fees are legal in every U.S. state. What varies is how much a landlord can charge, what the money can be spent on, and when it has to come back to you. Most states or cities regulate the amount in some way, typical fees run around $50, and caps range from about $20 on the low end to roughly $66 where the ceiling adjusts for inflation. Federal law then takes over once your application has been screened, setting rules for what a landlord must tell you if you’re turned down.
How Much a Landlord Can Charge
There is no federal cap on application fees. Limits come from state legislatures and, in some places, city or county councils, which produces a patchwork:
- A handful of states set a fixed dollar ceiling, usually between $20 and $50. One state ties the cap to a percentage of the monthly rent.
- Several states allow only the landlord’s actual screening cost. Anything above that must be refunded.
- At least one state uses a base cap that rises each year with the Consumer Price Index, which has pushed the maximum above $65.
- Many states impose no statewide cap at all, though local ordinances may still limit the fee in a given city or county.
No state bans application fees outright. A few require the fee to be waived if you supply your own recent screening report. Check your specific city and state before paying; a fee that is legal in one jurisdiction can be illegal ten miles away.
What the Fee Is Actually Paying For
The fee reimburses the landlord for evaluating whether you’ll be a reliable tenant. Most of it goes to third-party services that pull your credit history and search public records for criminal or eviction filings. The rest covers administrative time spent verifying employment, income, and references from prior landlords.
In states that tie the fee to actual costs, a landlord cannot add a profit margin or use the money for general office overhead. The fee is strictly for screening.
A separate “administrative fee” or “move-in fee” sometimes appears on the same application, covering things like lease preparation or file setup. Those are distinct charges, and whether they’re legal depends on your jurisdiction. If you see both on one application, ask for a written breakdown before you pay.
When the Fee Has to Be Refunded
Application fees are usually non-refundable once the landlord has actually run your screening. The credit pull and background check can’t be undone. But there are situations where the money has to come back:
- The landlord collected your fee but never ran a credit or background check. You paid for a service that wasn’t performed.
- The unit was already rented before your application was processed. Many jurisdictions require a refund when a screening can no longer lead to a lease.
- The fee exceeded the landlord’s actual screening costs in a state that caps fees at cost. Any surplus is yours. Refund windows vary, with some states requiring return within 10 to 30 days.
Keep the receipt and note the date you applied. If you end up in a dispute, the payment date and the landlord’s timeline for filling the unit are the evidence that matters.
Your Rights Under Federal Law If You’re Denied
Even though fee amounts are a state matter, the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act applies in every state. Its protections kick in whenever a landlord uses a consumer report, meaning a credit report or tenant screening report, to decide on your application.
The Adverse Action Notice
If a landlord denies your application based entirely or partly on information in a consumer report, federal law requires a written notice explaining the decision. That notice must include the name, address, and phone number of the screening company that supplied the report, a statement that the screening company did not make the denial decision, and information about your right to dispute anything inaccurate in the report.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 U.S. Code 1681m – Requirements on Users of Consumer Reports
The notice must also tell you that you have 60 days to request a free copy of the report from the screening company.2Federal Trade Commission. Using Consumer Reports: What Landlords Need to Know This matters. Tenant screening reports are known to contain errors, and you can’t correct a mistake you don’t know is there. If you were denied and no notice arrived, the landlord has broken federal law.
What You Can Recover
A landlord who willfully ignores the notice requirement can be sued for actual damages or statutory damages between $100 and $1,000, plus punitive damages and attorney fees.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681n – Civil Liability for Willful Noncompliance The attorney fee provision is what gives the rule teeth. Some consumer rights lawyers will take these cases on contingency because they can recover fees from the landlord when the violation is clear.
Discrimination and the Screening Process
The Fair Housing Act doesn’t regulate application fees themselves, but it restricts how a landlord can use the screening information your fee pays for. Screening criteria can’t be a pretext for discrimination based on race, national origin, religion, sex, disability, or familial status, and that includes seemingly neutral policies like blanket rejection of anyone with a criminal record.
Federal guidance has said that blanket criminal-record bans often have a disproportionate impact on certain racial and ethnic groups and are difficult for a landlord to justify. Landlords are expected to look at criminal history individually, weighing the nature of the offense, how long ago it happened, and evidence of rehabilitation. Convictions for manufacturing or distributing controlled substances are the one carve-out; a landlord can deny on that basis without fair housing exposure.
If you were denied because of something in your background and the landlord seems to have applied a blanket rule instead of considering your circumstances, you may have a fair housing complaint on top of any FCRA claim.
Portable Tenant Screening Reports
A growing number of states allow or encourage portable tenant screening reports. You pay a screening company once for a report covering credit, criminal background, eviction history, and employment verification, then share the same report with multiple landlords instead of paying a fresh fee at every property.
The details vary. In some states, a landlord who accepts a portable report cannot charge an additional application fee. In others, acceptance is voluntary but the landlord must disclose the policy upfront. The reports are typically valid for 30 days. If you’re applying to several places at once, it’s worth asking whether the landlord will accept one, even where no law forces the issue.
What to Do About an Illegal or Excessive Fee
Start by confirming what your state and city actually allow. Tenant rights organizations and local housing authorities publish plain-language guides online. Once you know the rule, you’ll know whether the fee you paid was legal.
If it wasn’t, put the request in writing. Send the landlord a letter or email identifying the specific amount overcharged, citing the applicable rule, and asking for a refund by a stated deadline. Written communication builds the paper trail you’ll need if the dispute escalates.
When a landlord ignores that request, file a complaint with your local consumer protection agency or the state attorney general. Those offices can investigate, mediate, or bring enforcement action. For FCRA problems specifically, like a missing adverse action notice, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau accepts complaints.4Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. What Should I Do if My Rental Application Is Denied Because of a Tenant Screening Report
Small claims court is often the most practical option. Filing fees are low, you don’t need a lawyer, and the process is built for straightforward money disputes. Bring your receipt, your written refund request, and any evidence showing that the screening never happened or that the fee exceeded what the law allows. For FCRA claims, where statutory damages and attorney fees are available, a short consultation with a consumer rights attorney before you file may cost you nothing out of pocket.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681n – Civil Liability for Willful Noncompliance