WTF is it with all these fees to apply for an apartment?

[raccoon]

Today I happen to stop by my property manager Office to ask about something. She was on the phone to somebody and gestured for me to come on in.

Apparently it was somebody who was looking for an apartment. she told them they would need to pay $250 to apply. $100 for the security deposit, $100 for the “Administration fee“, and $50 for application fee.

I get security deposit: you always have to make those. And I don’t know if the new person has to pay first and last months rent and all that stuff possibly they do.

But what is this “administration fee” and application fee? And does the person get back the application fee if they are declined for an apartment?

[Fullduplexxx]

1. Those are because-we-can fees

S

[elleng]

2. Right.

[Rebl2]

6. That says it all

[mitch96]

11. "they" are taking a page from the car dealers with all the bullshit fees to line their pockets plain and simple

It's a money grab..
m

[chowder66]

3. The Biden Admin is working on junk fees

Much much more at link....

The President will outline several new, concrete steps in the Administration’s effort to crack down on rental junk fees and lower costs for renters, including:

New commitments from major rental housing platforms—Zillow, Apartments.com, and AffordableHousing.com—who have answered the President’s call for transparency and will provide consumers with total, upfront cost information on rental properties, which can be hundreds of dollars on top of the advertised rent;
New research from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which provides a blueprint for a nationwide effort to address rental housing junk fees; and
Legislative action in states across the country—from Connecticut to California—who are joining the Administration in its effort to crack down on rental housing fees and protect consumers.


https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/07/19/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-takes-on-junk-fees-in-rental-housing-to-lower-costs-for-renters/

[Lucinda]

7. Thank you for the info!

❤️ ✿❧🌿❧✿ ❤️

[chowder66]

10. You're welcome. I was surprised about how many fees there were these days.

[Sanity Claws]

4. At least they are calling them fees.

I remember when they tried to pass them off as deposits, i.e. administration deposit. So I asked, if it is a deposit, when do I get it back? The person looked puzzled and said you don't get it back. I said if the money is not returned to me, then it is a fee, not a deposit.

[maptap22]

5. Running credit checks

Criminal background checks, etc.

[TwilightZone]

8. A lot of managers farm out the application process now, including security checks, etc.

Some of the fees are probably for that.

[Shermann]

9. I'd ask for the $50 application fee to be put towards the first month's rent if approved

...assuming any of this is negotiable.

[MadameButterfly]

12. I'm a landlord

and the costs we incurr looking for tenants--and checking them out--are ours. I can't imagine charging even the people we don't select as renters. We also have the incentive to keep our renters because it's costly to us to find new ones.

The upside is when you treat people well they stick around.

[forthemiddle]

13. You can't even look at the apartment without filling out the application

We just went through this. Not only do you have to fill out a full application, with background checks, you also have to pay an application fee.
So if you want to check out 3 apartments and choose between them, it will cost $150.00 and you still haven’t even got into a place.