How much can a landlord charge for a rental application fee in New Jersey?

$50 is the most a landlord or their agent may charge to apply for a residential rental, counting every fee charged for the same application. The limit is adjusted for inflation each year starting January 1, 2027; $50 is the amount that applies today.

Does an application fee have to be refunded in New Jersey?

Yes — in New Jersey at least one circumstance requires application-stage money to be returned. Money comes back through enforcement, not on request. An overcharge above the $50 limit is repaid to the applicant out of the penalty collected from the landlord, and the Division on Civil Rights may order an application fee returned when it substantiates a Fair Chance in Housing Act complaint.

Does a landlord have to give a receipt for an application fee in New Jersey?

No statutory receipt duty for application money.

Does New Jersey have a reusable tenant screening report law?

No statute on reusable screening reports.

Can a landlord charge a holding deposit in New Jersey?

No statute on holding deposits.

What can a landlord charge for a rental application in New Jersey?

Verified August 26, 2026 All New Jersey topics →

Check your municipality. New Jersey does not preempt local rent regulation — city or county ordinances may impose rent caps, notice rules, and fee limits that are stricter than the state-level rules on this page and are not covered here. Verify your municipality's ordinances before relying on any figure below. Verified local pages: Atlantic City , Bayonne , East Orange , Elizabeth , Fort Lee , Hoboken , Jersey City , Newark , Passaic , Paterson .

What the state record says

New Jersey has no statewide rent control statute, but roughly 100 municipalities — including Newark, Jersey City, Elizabeth, Paterson, and Fort Lee — maintain rent control or rent leveling ordinances with their own caps, notice rules, and boards. This is the leading NON-preemption state: municipalities have had confirmed authority to enact rent control since Inganamort v. Borough of Fort Lee, 62 N.J. 521 (1973). State law also polices increases through the Anti-Eviction Act's unconscionability standard.

New Jersey caps what it costs to apply for a rental: since May 1, 2026 a landlord or their agent may not charge more than $50 in application and similar fees for one application, and before taking any application fee a housing provider must say in writing whether it will look at criminal history and that the applicant may answer with corrections or evidence of rehabilitation.

Cited to N.J.S.A. 46:8-18.1 (a), (c), (d) and 24 more New Jersey statutes · Verified August 26, 2026

The $50 figure is adjusted for inflation each year beginning January 1, 2027, and the Division of Consumer Affairs publishes the amount that applies. New Jersey does not tie the fee to what screening actually costs, does not require a receipt or an itemized breakdown, and has no reusable screening report law and no rules on money taken to hold a unit. Where a landlord withdraws a conditional offer over an applicant's criminal record, written reasons, an appeal and a free copy of the information relied on are required. Charging above the limit brings penalties of up to $500, $750 or $1,000 by offense count, and the overcharge is paid back to the applicant out of the penalty.

New Jersey application fees at a glance

Application fee cap	$50 is the most a landlord or their agent may charge to apply for a residential rental, counting every fee charged for the same application. The limit is adjusted for inflation each year starting January 1, 2027; $50 is the amount that applies today. N.J.S.A. 46:8-18.1(a) bars a landlord, or an agent of the landlord, from requiring an application or other similar fee to apply to lease or sublease a residential rental property for dwelling purposes that exceeds $50. The limit took effect May 1, 2026. Two situations are outside it: a dwelling unit located in a one-family or two-family dwelling that is offered for rent, and a licensee of the New Jersey Real Estate Commission unless the licensee is the landlord of the property. Beginning January 1, 2027 the figure moves each year in proportion to the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers for the New York, Northern New Jersey and Long Island metropolitan area over the 12 months ending October 31 of the prior year, and only when that change is above zero; the State Treasurer sets the amount by December 1 and the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs publishes the figure that applies for the coming year on the Division's website.
Fee limited to actual screening cost	No statute ties the fee to screening cost
Screening charge rules	A charge for screening is treated as part of the same capped application fee. Everything a landlord or agent charges an applicant for one application, whatever it is called, has to fit inside the $50 limit. N.J.S.A. 46:8-18.1(a) limits an application fee 'or other similar fee' to apply, which reaches charges for credit, background and eviction reports. The Attorney General and the Division of Consumer Affairs state in their April 13, 2026 guidance that a housing provider may violate the statute if fees labeled administrative or screening, together with the application fee, bring the total charged for one application above $50. Beyond that limit, no New Jersey statute says who may run a screening, requires that a report actually be obtained, limits how many applicants may be charged for one unit, or requires a written agreement or a vacancy before a charge is made. The real estate licensing law's offense for charging unlicensed rental-locating fees does not reach a landlord or a licensed broker charging a fee to process an application to rent an apartment or to run a credit check or other investigation, and it sets no conditions on such a fee.
Receipt required	No statutory receipt duty for application money
Refund required in some circumstances	Yes
Refund rules	Money comes back through enforcement, not on request. An overcharge above the $50 limit is repaid to the applicant out of the penalty collected from the landlord, and the Division on Civil Rights may order an application fee returned when it substantiates a Fair Chance in Housing Act complaint. N.J.S.A. 46:8-18.1(b) provides that following the summary proceeding, the amount wrongfully charged is taken from the collected penalty and remitted to the applicant or prospective tenant. N.J.S.A. 46:8-63(d)(3) and (d)(4) let the Director of the Division on Civil Rights require the rental application fee to be returned and require up to $1,000 of the penalty to be paid to the applicant. Neither route sets a deadline for a landlord to return money on its own. No New Jersey statute requires any part of the fee back because the applicant was never screened, was turned down, withdrew, or because the unit was rented to someone else first.
Disclosure before collecting	Before taking any application fee, a housing provider must tell the applicant in writing whether criminal history is part of its eligibility criteria, and that the applicant may show that a record is inaccurate or offer evidence of rehabilitation or other mitigating factors. N.J.S.A. 46:8-55(b), part of the Fair Chance in Housing Act, sets both duties and ties them to the moment before any application fee is accepted. The Director of the Division on Civil Rights publishes a model disclosure statement at no cost in English, Spanish and other languages under N.J.S.A. 46:8-57. The duty runs to a rental dwelling unit offered for rent for residential purposes, other than a dwelling unit in an owner-occupied premises of not more than four dwelling units. No statute requires a landlord to publish its wider screening criteria, the basis for the fee, or a fee breakdown before collecting; the Attorney General and the Division of Consumer Affairs treat failure to state the application fee amount in an advertisement as a consumer protection problem rather than a duty under the fee limit itself.
Denial-notice duties (state law)	When a housing provider withdraws a conditional offer because of an applicant's criminal record, it must give written notice stating the reasons with specificity and an opportunity to appeal, and on request must hand over free of charge, within 10 days, everything it relied on. N.J.S.A. 46:8-56(c)(2) requires the written notification and the chance to answer with evidence of inaccuracies, rehabilitation or other mitigating factors. N.J.S.A. 46:8-56(d) gives the applicant 30 days from that notice to ask for a copy of all information the provider relied on, including criminal records, and gives the provider 10 days to supply it at no cost. The Division on Civil Rights publishes a model notice under N.J.S.A. 46:8-57(a)(2). These duties attach to decisions based on criminal record; New Jersey sets no general state denial-notice duty for a rental application turned down on other grounds, and the notice duties that come with a consumer report under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act operate separately.
Reusable screening reports	No statute on reusable screening reports
Holding deposits	No statute on holding deposits
Rental fee-transparency rules	New Jersey has no separate rental pricing-transparency statute. The Consumer Fraud Act does the work, and the state applies it to rental advertising: not stating the amount of a required application fee in an advertisement, or holding back the rent figure until an application fee is paid, is treated as an unlawful practice. N.J.S.A. 56:8-2 makes it an unlawful practice to use an unconscionable or abusive commercial practice, deception, or the knowing concealment or omission of a material fact in connection with the sale or advertisement of merchandise or real estate. In guidance issued April 13, 2026, the Attorney General and the Division of Consumer Affairs apply that section to residential rental housing: failing to clearly disclose the amount of any required application fee when advertising rental housing is described as likely unconscionable, abusive or deceptive, as is withholding the rent price unless an applicant pays a fee, collecting application fees for properties that are not actually available, and collecting fees from applicants the provider knows will not qualify. The Division's June 12, 2026 enforcement statement on junk fees rests on the same Consumer Fraud Act authority. There is no all-in advertised price requirement for rent itself and no mandatory-fee itemization statute for residential leases.
Penalty for violation	Charging above the $50 limit carries a penalty of up to $500 for a first offense, up to $750 for a second and up to $1,000 for each one after that, with the overcharge repaid to the applicant. Breaking the pre-fee disclosure or denial-notice duties carries up to $1,000, $5,000 or $10,000 depending on prior violations. Consumer Fraud Act penalties reach $10,000 for a first offense and $20,000 for each later one. For the fee limit, N.J.S.A. 46:8-18.1(b) sets the tiered penalty, collected by summary proceedings under the Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999 in the Superior Court, Law Division, Special Civil Part, on the complaint of the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs or the Attorney General, with the amount wrongfully charged taken from the penalty and remitted to the applicant. For the Fair Chance in Housing Act duties in N.J.S.A. 46:8-55 and 46:8-56, N.J.S.A. 46:8-63(c) sets penalties of up to $1,000 where there is no prior violation in five years, up to $5,000 with one prior violation in five years, and up to $10,000 with two or more in seven years; subsection (d) lets the Director order the application fee returned and direct up to $1,000 of the penalty to the applicant, and subsection (a) routes complaints to the Division on Civil Rights rather than to court in the first instance. For Consumer Fraud Act violations, N.J.S.A. 56:8-13 sets penalties of not more than $10,000 for a first offense and not more than $20,000 for each later offense, and N.J.S.A. 56:8-19 gives a person with an ascertainable loss a private action for three times the damages plus reasonable attorney's fees, filing fees and costs.

Cite this page: "Landlord Atlas, New Jersey Application & Screening Fee Laws (verified August 26, 2026), landlordatlas.com/laws/application-fees/new-jersey/" — free to cite and quote with a link (how these records are verified). Every figure above is cited to the New Jersey statute in the citations section below.

Notes and caveats

The amount in force — $50 is the figure that applies today. The first inflation adjustment is due January 1, 2027, and from then the Division of Consumer Affairs publishes the applicable amount on its website each year, so the current figure should be taken from that publication rather than assumed.
One- and two-family homes are outside the cap — The $50 limit does not apply to a dwelling unit located in a one-family or two-family dwelling that is offered for rent. The statute does not require the owner to live there for the exemption to apply.
Real estate licensees — The limit does not apply to a licensee of the New Jersey Real Estate Commission unless that licensee is the landlord of the property.
The cap is a total, not a per-fee limit — Fees labeled administrative or screening count toward the same $50 for a single application, so several separate charges cannot be used to go past it.
The disclosure duty has a different reach — The written disclosure before an application fee, and the notice duties when a conditional offer is withdrawn, come from the Fair Chance in Housing Act. They apply to rental dwelling units other than those in an owner-occupied building of not more than four units, which is a different line from the one- and two-family exemption in the fee cap.
What the statutes do not reach — There is no reusable or portable screening report law, no rule on money taken to hold a unit before a lease is signed, no receipt or itemization duty for application money, and no requirement that a landlord actually run a screening after charging for one.
Implementing rules are directed but not confirmed in place — N.J.S.A. 46:8-18.2 directs the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs to adopt rules to carry out the fee limit, including a way for applicants to report violations on the Division's website.
How the cost limit works — New Jersey sets a flat dollar limit and does not tie the fee to what a credit, background or eviction report actually costs. A landlord may charge up to the limit whatever the reports cost, and must not exceed it even if they cost more. An earlier version of the bill that became P.L.2025, c.405 would have tied the fee to the actual cost of a credit check subject to a $30 ceiling; that language appears in the chaptered text as matter that was not enacted.
What the receipt duty covers — No New Jersey statute requires a receipt or an itemized breakdown for money paid to apply. The receipt duty in the residential landlord and tenant law, N.J.S.A. 46:8-49.2(a), covers cash a tenant pays for an amount due under a residential lease, renewal or extension agreement, so it does not reach an applicant who has no lease. P.L.2025, c.405 adds no receipt or itemization duty. What an applicant gets is a matter of the landlord's own practice.
When money must come back — Two statutes force money back to an applicant, both through an enforcement proceeding rather than automatically. Under N.J.S.A. 46:8-18.1(b), once a penalty is collected for charging more than the limit, the amount wrongfully charged is taken out of that penalty and remitted to the applicant or prospective tenant. Under the Fair Chance in Housing Act, N.J.S.A. 46:8-63(d)(3), the Director of the Division on Civil Rights may require that an applicant's rental application fee be returned after a substantiated complaint.
Reusable screening reports — New Jersey has no reusable or portable tenant screening report statute. A landlord is not required to accept a report an applicant already paid for elsewhere, no statute bars charging when such a report is used, and none sets a validity window. Searching the Legislature's statutes database for reusable and portable screening report terms returns nothing, and chapter 8 of Title 46, the chapter the application fee limit supplements, contains no such provision.
Money to hold a unit — No New Jersey statute caps money taken to hold a unit while a lease is prepared, requires a written statement about it, or says what happens to it if the tenancy does or does not go ahead. The real estate licensing law, N.J.S.A. 45:15-1.2, says only that its offense for unlicensed rental-locating fees does not stop a landlord or a licensed broker from requiring a deposit to reserve a particular unit, and attaches no conditions. The Rent Security Deposit Act reaches money deposited or advanced on a contract, lease or license agreement for the use or rental of real property, and its ceiling of one and one-half months' rent at N.J.S.A. 46:8-21.2 is framed the same way, so neither addresses money taken before there is a contract or lease. What governs is the parties' own agreement.

Common questions: New Jersey application fees

Each answer is the verified value from the table above, restated as a direct answer. Free to quote with a link to this page.

How much can a landlord charge for a rental application fee in New Jersey?: $50 is the most a landlord or their agent may charge to apply for a residential rental, counting every fee charged for the same application. The limit is adjusted for inflation each year starting January 1, 2027; $50 is the amount that applies today.
Does an application fee have to be refunded in New Jersey?: Yes — in New Jersey at least one circumstance requires application-stage money to be returned. Money comes back through enforcement, not on request. An overcharge above the $50 limit is repaid to the applicant out of the penalty collected from the landlord, and the Division on Civil Rights may order an application fee returned when it substantiates a Fair Chance in Housing Act complaint.
Does a landlord have to give a receipt for an application fee in New Jersey?: No statutory receipt duty for application money.
Does New Jersey have a reusable tenant screening report law?: No statute on reusable screening reports.
Can a landlord charge a holding deposit in New Jersey?: No statute on holding deposits.

Statute citations

N.J.S.A. 46:8-18.1 (a), (c), (d) (verified 2026) Official source
P.L.2025, c.405 s.1; s.3 (effective date) (verified 2026) Official source
New Jersey Attorney General and Division of Consumer Affairs, Guidance for Housing Providers on Rental Application Fees (April 13, 2026) (verified 2026) Official source
N.J.S.A. 46:8-18.1 (a) (verified 2026) Official source
P.L.2025, c.405 s.1a (verified 2026) Official source
N.J.S.A. 45:15-1.2 (verified 2026) Official source
N.J.S.A. 46:8-49.2 (a) (verified 2026) Official source
N.J.S.A. 46:8-18.1 (verified 2026) Official source
N.J.S.A. 46:8-18.1 (b) (verified 2026) Official source
N.J.S.A. 46:8-63 (d)(3) (verified 2026) Official source
N.J.S.A. 46:8-63 (d)(3), (d)(4) (verified 2026) Official source
N.J.S.A. 46:8-55 (b) (verified 2026) Official source
N.J.S.A. 46:8-54 definition of rental dwelling unit (verified 2026) Official source
N.J.S.A. 46:8-57 (a)(1), (b) (verified 2026) Official source
N.J.S.A. 46:8-56 (c)(2), (d) (verified 2026) Official source
N.J.S.A. 46:8-57 (a)(2) (verified 2026) Official source
N.J.S.A. 46:8-19 (verified 2026) Official source
N.J.S.A. 46:8-21.2 (verified 2026) Official source
N.J.S.A. 56:8-2 (verified 2026) Official source
New Jersey Attorney General and Division of Consumer Affairs, Enforcement Statement on Junk Fees (June 12, 2026) (verified 2026) Official source
N.J.S.A. 46:8-63 (a), (c), (d) (verified 2026) Official source
N.J.S.A. 56:8-13 (verified 2026) Official source
N.J.S.A. 56:8-19 (verified 2026) Official source
P.L.2025, c.405 (verified 2026) Official source
N.J.S.A. 46:8-63 (verified 2026) Official source

How this record was verified: Direct read of N.J.S.A. 46:8-18.1 and 46:8-18.2, 46:8-19, 46:8-21.2, 46:8-26, 46:8-46, 46:8-47, 46:8-49.2, 46:8-54 through 46:8-57, 46:8-61 and 46:8-63, and 45:15-1.2, plus N.J.S.A. 56:8-2, 56:8-13, 56:8-19 and 56:8-19.1, on the New Jersey Legislature's statutes database at lis.njleg.state.nj.us; the chaptered text of P.L.2025, c.405 on the Legislature's document server; a term search of the Legislature's statutes database for application fee, screening fee, tenant screening, credit check, holding deposit, deposit to reserve, rental application, reusable and portable screening report, junk fee, drip pricing, advertised price, mandatory fee and adverse action; a review of all 427 chapters of P.L.2025 and all 31 chapters of P.L.2026 in the Legislature's chapter-law index; and the Attorney General and Division of Consumer Affairs guidance for housing providers on rental application fees dated April 13, 2026 and enforcement statement on junk fees dated June 12, 2026.