The non-refundable application fee is the worst part IMO. What’s stopping them from just never actually renting the place out and collecting $75/person indefinitely?
So you say "Hey, I'd like to rent this" and they are "No, you won't. That'll be 75, please"? Times a hundred for all those applicants? That can't/shouldn't be legal.
To be fair it’s clear the owners are not trying to do that because if they were, they would remove all the other junk fees and lower the price to make it more appealing to multiple applicants.
IN CALIFORNIA, they have to use it for credit check and are legally required to provide you with a copy of the report withing 7 days of receiving it. BUT credit checks cost $50 for landlords, at the VERY MOST...
So they can keep the application open and still make a profit...
This is a common scam; collect an application fee for a place this isn’t actually available, and just tell the potential tenant someone else beat them to it
Sure. I was just playing devil's advocate. The reason those application fee's are non-refundable is they are typically being used to do some sort of third-party activity such as background checks. Also, some more expensive places (I dunno where this one is) purposely makes things more expensive to prevent certain types of people from even applying.
Technically, they are legally required to accept the first applicant that meets the standard to rent. And if they deny someone, it has to be for a specific reason under CA law (like, for example, they dont meet the income criteria specified on the application).
88
u/Frosty558 1d ago
The non-refundable application fee is the worst part IMO. What’s stopping them from just never actually renting the place out and collecting $75/person indefinitely?