California Rental Application Screening Fees: What Applicants Should Know

Before paying a California rental application screening fee, ask whether a unit is available, when your application will be considered, and which refund process the landlord uses. Civil Code section 1950.6 ties the fee to actual screening cost and a CPI-adjusted ceiling. A dollar amount printed in an older article is not a current quote.

When can the landlord collect a fee?

The landlord or agent must have a unit available now or within a reasonable period. The statute provides two screening processes.

Under the first process, screening criteria must be provided in writing with the application form. Completed applications are considered in order, the first applicant who meets those criteria is approved, and no fee is charged until an application is actually considered.

If multiple concurrent applications cause an inadvertent fee collection and your application is not considered, that process requires a refund within seven days. Applying the fee to another rental unit offered by the landlord is an option at your discretion. A fee need not be refunded under this process when an application is considered and denied for failing the established criteria; unused-fee rules still apply.

Under the other process, the entire fee is returned to an applicant who is not selected, regardless of the reason, within seven days after a tenant is selected or 30 days after the application was submitted, whichever occurs first. Ask which process the property uses before you pay. The controlling conditions are in section 1950.6(c).

What does the fee cover?

The amount cannot exceed the actual out-of-pocket cost of gathering information plus the reasonable value of the landlord's or agent's time, subject to the CPI-adjusted cap. You are entitled to an itemized receipt. If a reference check or credit report is not performed, the unused amount must be returned. See section 1950.6(b), (d), and (e) and ask the property for its current fee.

If you paid for screening and the landlord obtains a consumer credit report, the landlord or agent must give you a copy within seven days of receiving it. Keep the application, fee receipt, screening criteria, and refund correspondence. The California Department of Real Estate tenant guide also explains the reusable-report rule under Civil Code section 1950.1: when a landlord accepts that report, it cannot charge an additional application screening fee for it.

Confirm the unit and advertised terms before submitting. If you are not selected or a check was not performed, ask how the applicable refund rule will be handled. This article gives you questions to ask. It cannot decide a dispute about your application.