Application fees add up quickly for people searching for a rental home. Low income households in particular often have to choose between depleting their limited financial resources paying repeat fees, or applying to fewer homes and missing out on housing opportunities.
The solution: HB23-1099, Portable Screening Report For Residential Leases, a bill that expands housing choices, saves renting Coloradans money, and helps people protect their personal information.
This bill requires a landlord to accept from a prospective tenant a portable tenant screening report, prepared by a consumer reporting agency within the previous 30 days at the applicant's request and expense. The landlord or their agent may offer to conduct the screening for a fee to cover the cost, but must deliver the results to the applicant for reuse in the event that there is no resulting lease agreement. The bill also authorizes the attorney general's office to independently initiate and bring an action to enforce the "Rental Application Fairness Act."
This bill takes an additional step toward housing justice by placing legal agency directly in the hands of people who rent their home.
What the bill does:
1. Minimizes the potential for landlords and property managers to collect application fee amounts above and beyond the legal limit (i.e. at cost).
2. Enables rental-seekers to apply for multiple units without exhausting limited financial resources.
3. Restores the custody of personal and sensitive data to their rightful owner.
4. Authorizes the attorney general's office to initiate action so that enforcement is more likely.
To learn more about this legislation, click here.