What can a landlord charge for a rental application in Washington?

No flat dollar cap, but a landlord may charge a prospective tenant only the costs incurred in obtaining a tenant screening report, and a landlord who screens in-house may charge only actual costs, which may not exceed the customary costs charged by a screening service in the general area. Either charge is permitted only if the landlord first gives the required pre-screening notice. A fee or deposit for a place on a waiting list is unlawful.

Washington regulates the application-stage charge by tying it to the cost of screening rather than by setting a dollar figure. Where the landlord buys a tenant screening report, the charge is limited to the costs incurred in obtaining it. Where the landlord does the screening itself, the charge is limited to actual costs, and those costs may not exceed what a screening service in the general area customarily charges; the statute counts long distance phone calls and time spent calling landlords, employers and financial institutions as actual costs. Both charges are conditioned on the landlord having first given the applicant the written or posted screening notice. Separately, no fee or deposit may be required simply to be placed on a waiting list.

Charging is conditioned on notice: a landlord may charge for screening only if it first gave the applicant the required written or posted notice. In-house screening carries a second ceiling at the customary area screening-service cost. A landlord that states it will accept a comprehensive reusable tenant screening report may still run its own report but may not charge the applicant for it. No fee or deposit may be required for a place on a waiting list.

Washington layers three conditions on screening charges. First, the charge is lawful only where the landlord gave the pre-screening notice covering the types of information to be accessed, the criteria that may result in denial, the consumer reporting agency's name and address with the applicant's rights, and whether reusable reports are accepted. Second, a landlord doing its own screening is held to actual costs and to what a screening service in the general area customarily charges. Third, a landlord that has stated a willingness to accept a comprehensive reusable tenant screening report may obtain its own report only if the applicant is not charged for it. Washington sets no limit on the number of separate charges an applicant may face across landlords, no rule requiring that a screening actually be performed once a charge is collected, and no requirement that a unit be vacant or available before a charge may be taken.

Money taken to hold a unit is credited to the first month's rent or the security deposit if the applicant moves in. If the applicant does not move in, the landlord may keep up to the full amount, but only in line with the written statement of conditions given at payment. Nothing may be kept where the unit fails a tenant-based rental assistance program inspection, and if that inspection has not happened within ten days of collection the landlord may end the hold and must then promptly return the money. Tenant screening charges carry no return duty.

The mechanics turn on what happens after the hold. On a move-in, the amount is credited to the first month's rent or to the security deposit. On no move-in, the landlord's ability to keep the money is bounded by the written conditions statement handed over when the money was taken. Where the unit fails a tenant-based rental assistance program inspection by a qualified inspector, no portion may be kept. If that inspection does not occur within ten days of collection, or a longer period the parties agree to, the landlord may notify the applicant that the unit will no longer be held, and must promptly return the money once notified of the failed inspection or once it has given that notice. Placing the money in the mail, properly addressed with first-class postage prepaid, satisfies the return duty. None of this reaches a screening charge, which the statute defines out of the hold-money rules.

Before obtaining any information about an applicant, the landlord must give written or posted notice of four things: the types of information that will be accessed, the criteria that may result in denial, the consumer reporting agency's name and address with the applicant's rights to a free copy on denial and to dispute accuracy, and whether the landlord will accept a comprehensive reusable tenant screening report. A landlord whose website advertises a rental must also state on the property's home page whether it accepts such reports. A landlord taking money to hold a unit must give a written statement of the retention conditions at the moment of payment.

The pre-screening notice is the gateway to charging: the landlord may charge for screening only if it gave this notice first. The notice must cover the types of information that will be accessed to conduct the screening, the criteria that may result in denial of the application, and, where a consumer report is used, the name and address of the consumer reporting agency together with the applicant's right to a free copy of the report on a denial or other adverse action and to dispute the accuracy of what it contains. It must also say whether the landlord will accept a comprehensive reusable tenant screening report. A landlord who maintains a website advertising the rental of a dwelling unit, or serving as a source of information for current or prospective tenants, must carry that same statement about reusable reports on the property's home page. Money taken to hold a unit carries its own disclosure: a written statement of the conditions under which the money may be kept, delivered with the receipt immediately on payment.

A landlord taking adverse action must give the applicant a written notice stating the reasons, in substantially the form set out in the statute. The form records the outcome and the basis for it, including the name, address and phone number of any consumer reporting agency whose report contributed, and is dated and signed by the agent or owner. Under the state fair credit reporting act, anyone taking adverse action based in whole or part on a consumer report must also give written notice and identify the reporting agency; that act's definition of adverse action expressly reaches a determination on an application to rent or lease residential real estate.

The statutory form asks the landlord to mark whether the application was rejected or approved with conditions, and it names the conditions it contemplates: an increased deposit, a qualified guarantor, last month's rent, an increased monthly rent in a stated amount, or another condition. It then asks the landlord to mark the basis, choosing among information in a consumer report, a credit report that did not contain sufficient information, information from previous rental history or a reference, a criminal record, a civil record, or an employment verification. Where a consumer report contributed, the landlord must supply the reporting agency's name, address and phone number. The notice must also carry any additional information required by the state fair credit reporting act, which separately requires written notice of adverse action and the reporting agency's name, address and telephone number. The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act runs alongside these state duties; the state screening statute states that it does not limit a prospective tenant's rights or a screening service's duties under the state fair credit reporting act.

A landlord is not required to accept a comprehensive reusable tenant screening report, but must say whether it will, both in the pre-screening notice and on the home page of any website advertising the rental. A landlord that says it will accept one may still obtain its own report, provided the applicant is not charged for it. The report is one prepared by a consumer reporting agency at the applicant's direction and expense and made available to the landlord at no charge.

The report must contain a consumer credit report prepared by a consumer reporting agency within the past 30 days, the applicant's criminal history, the applicant's eviction history, an employment verification, and the applicant's address and rental history. The applicant pays for it and the landlord receives it at no charge. Washington's requirement runs to disclosure rather than acceptance: the landlord must state its position on reusable reports up front and repeat it on the property's home page where it advertises online. Where a landlord has stated it will accept one, it may still access its own tenant screening report about the applicant, but may not pass the cost of that report to the applicant. The 30-day currency requirement for the credit report is the only timing limit; the statute sets no separate expiry for the report as a whole.

A fee or deposit to hold a unit may be charged only after the unit has been offered to the applicant, and may not exceed 25 percent of the first month's rent. A receipt and a written statement of the retention conditions are due immediately on payment. On a move-in the money is credited to the first month's rent or the security deposit; if the applicant does not move in, the landlord may keep up to the full amount, but only in line with the written conditions. Charging for a place on a waiting list is unlawful.

Washington treats hold money as its own category. It may be taken only after the dwelling unit has been offered to the applicant, and the ceiling is 25 percent of the first month's rent. Screening-service and background-information costs are not part of it. Money that is followed by a move-in must be credited to the first month's rent or to the security deposit. If the applicant does not move in, the landlord may keep up to the full amount, but only as the written conditions statement provides. No portion may be kept where the unit fails a tenant-based rental assistance program inspection by a qualified inspector, and if that inspection has not occurred within ten days of collection, or a longer agreed period, the landlord may end the hold and must promptly return the money. A separate provision confirms that hold money is not counted as a deposit or nonrefundable fee for the installment-payment rules and repeats the 25 percent ceiling. Requiring any fee or deposit for the privilege of being placed on a waiting list is unlawful.

Breaking the screening notice and charging conditions exposes a landlord to up to $100 payable to the applicant, with court costs and reasonable attorneys' fees to the prevailing party. Breaking the hold-money rules exposes a landlord to the amount of the fee or deposit charged plus up to two times that fee or deposit, again with court costs and a reasonable attorneys' fee. Failing to document a nonrefundable fee in writing makes the landlord liable for the fees collected or converts them into a refundable deposit. A breach of the state fair credit reporting act is an unfair or deceptive act carrying actual damages, costs and fees, and $1,000 more for a willful failure.

Each penalty attaches to a named duty. The $100 exposure is written against the screening statute's first subsection, which carries the pre-screening notice, the charging conditions and the adverse action notice; the website home-page statement sits in a later subsection and carries no stated amount of its own. The hold-money penalty covers the whole of that section, so the waiting-list ban, the receipt and written conditions duty, the 25 percent ceiling and the return duties all sit behind it. The nonrefundable-fee provision supplies a forfeiture rather than a penalty figure: with no written rental agreement the landlord is liable for the amount of any fees collected as nonrefundable, and where the agreement omits the nonrefundable label the money is treated as a refundable deposit under the deposit sections. Violations of the state fair credit reporting act are declared unfair or deceptive acts in trade or commerce, giving a consumer actual damages, costs of the action and reasonable attorneys' fees, and a $1,000 monetary penalty where the failure to comply was willful.