HF 1613

as introduced - 81st Legislature (1999 - 2000) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to landlords and tenants; requiring certain 
  1.3             limitations on tenant screening fees; proposing coding 
  1.4             for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 504. 
  1.5   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.6      Section 1.  [504.301] [APPLICANT SCREENING FEE.] 
  1.7      Subdivision 1.  [APPLICANT SCREENING FEE CAP.] If a 
  1.8   landlord or the landlord's agent imposes a screening fee upon a 
  1.9   residential property applicant, the landlord or the landlord's 
  1.10  agent may not charge more than the actual out-of-pocket expenses 
  1.11  of using a tenant screening service or a consumer credit 
  1.12  reporting service.  A landlord who conducts the background 
  1.13  screening on a prospective tenant may not charge more than the 
  1.14  customary fee imposed by a tenant screening service for the 
  1.15  background screening. 
  1.16     Subd. 2.  [LIMIT ON NUMBER OF APPLICANT SCREENING FEES.] A 
  1.17  landlord or the landlord's agent may not charge an applicant a 
  1.18  screening fee when the landlord knows or should have known that 
  1.19  no rental unit is available at that time or will be available 
  1.20  within a reasonable future time.  No more than four application 
  1.21  fees may be accepted for the same available rental unit in a 
  1.22  24-hour time period. 
  1.23     Subd. 3.  [ITEMIZATION OF APPLICANT SCREENING FEE.] Within 
  1.24  two working days of accepting a screening fee from an applicant, 
  1.25  the landlord or the landlord's agent shall provide, personally 
  2.1   or by mail, the applicant with a receipt for the fee paid by the 
  2.2   applicant.  The receipt shall itemize the out-of-pocket expenses 
  2.3   and time spent by the landlord or the landlord's agent to obtain 
  2.4   and process information about the applicant. 
  2.5      Subd. 4.  [RETURN OF APPLICANT SCREENING FEE.] If the 
  2.6   landlord or the landlord's agent does not perform a personal 
  2.7   reference check or does not obtain a consumer credit report, the 
  2.8   landlord or the landlord's agent shall return, personally or by 
  2.9   mail, any amount of the screening fee that is not used for the 
  2.10  purposes authorized by this section to the applicant within two 
  2.11  working days of accepting the screening fee. 
  2.12     Subd. 5.  [DISCLOSURES TO APPLICANT.] A landlord or the 
  2.13  landlord's agent, prior to taking an application fee from a 
  2.14  prospective tenant, must disclose on the application form or on 
  2.15  a separate form the following: 
  2.16     (1) the criteria the landlord will use to evaluate the 
  2.17  application and determine whether to rent to the applicant; and 
  2.18     (2) the name, address, and telephone number of the tenant 
  2.19  screening service the owner will use, unless the owner does not 
  2.20  use a tenant screening service. 
  2.21     Subd. 6.  [REMEDIES.] In addition to any other remedies, a 
  2.22  landlord who violates this section is liable to the applicant 
  2.23  for the application fee plus a civil penalty of up to $200, 
  2.24  civil court filing costs, and reasonable attorney fees incurred 
  2.25  to enforce this remedy.