Application fees charged just for asking to apply to rent a home in Utah. Families cannot afford to pay multiple application fees ranging from $30 per adult per app to $100 per adult per app. These landlords claim that these fees are for background and credit checks, some claim they are a fee for reviewing the application. In this petition, we will offer an alternative to charging application fees per adult, per application for background checks, credit checks and "office admin" charges. I am not suggesting we go as Massachusetts and Vermont and abolish the fees altogether, we should make landlords more accountable for how these fees are being spent, Possibly like Washington, landlords have to show the applicant a receipt for the background and credit check. However we strive to fix this, the very definition of fraud is "wrongful or criminal deception intended to result in financial or personal gain", so by definition, if a credit and or background check has not been performed on every applicant the fee is collected from, this constitutes fraud. I personally have had a couple of situations where the screening was not done, I demanded a refund and was refused, then I demanded a copy of my report and was refused that as well. If the checks were not performed, the application fee has now become a for profit collection for no services rendered, again, Fraud.. If the fees are being called administrative or office fees for reviewing the applications, then their hourly cost is somewhere in the area of $180-$275 an hour. Application fees were never intended to be for profit, they were intended to cover costs.

PURPOSE OF DESIRED CHANGE

This change would enable individuals and families to use most of their income for security deposits and rent instead of application fees for repeat screens. This might even lower the homelessness in Utah, people on tight budgets don't have to spend hundreds just applying.

PROPOSED CHANGE

We propose to change the collection of application fees and screening process in the following ways.

1) Applicant gets charged once for an application fee for screening services, to a maximum of  the costs of the screening services plus 10%, the originating landlord will provide the screening reports to the applicant, as well as a receipt as proof the screening has been performed, not just a receipt to show the applicant paid for screening.

2) The tenant can use that report for up to 90 days for other applications. The report will have to have a clear origination date.

3) Applicants should be allowed to provide their own reports, but again must be from reputable agency. If an applicant provides their own reports, the application fee should not be more than the time it takes to review the application.

4) If screening or review has not been done on an applicant, 100% of the application fee should be refunded, if only a review has been done, then 90% off the fee should be refunded and the 10% being retained for the time it takes to review the application.

5) If an Applicant provides a false report, the same laws apply to providing false information.

6) Families should be able to apply as a family instead of having to pay separate fees for each adult in the family. The same rules should apply to families with regards to reports and screening as outlined in Paragraph 1.

So to recap,

- Charge the applicant once every 90 days for screening services.
- Application fees cannot be more than the screening services plus 10%
- Reports are valid and can be used for additional applications for up to 90 days.
- Applicants can provide their own reports.
- Landlords must provide screening service receipts and reports to applicant when performed.
If no screening was performed, 90% of application fee must be refunded.

This will hopefully take some of the strain off of families and others trying to find a place to live that may not have hundreds of dollars to spend on non refundable fees. Who knows, maybe this will lower the homeless rate a bit in Utah

(Ref: A Landlord’s Guide Rental Application Fees)