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             repealing Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 504.30, 
  1.6             subdivision 5. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  [504.301] [APPLICANT SCREENING FEE.] 
  1.9      Subdivision 1.  [APPLICANT SCREENING FEE CAP.] If a 
  1.10  landlord or the landlord's agent imposes a screening fee upon a 
  1.11  residential property applicant, the landlord or the landlord's 
  1.12  agent may not charge more than the landlord's average 
  1.13  out-of-pocket expenses of using a tenant screening service or a 
  1.14  consumer credit reporting service.  A landlord who conducts the 
  1.15  background screening on a prospective tenant may not charge more 
  1.16  than the customary fee imposed by a tenant screening service for 
  1.17  the background screening. 
  1.18     Subd. 2.  [LIMIT ON NUMBER OF APPLICANT SCREENING FEES.] A 
  1.19  landlord or the landlord's agent may not charge an applicant a 
  1.20  screening fee when the landlord knows or should have known that 
  1.21  no rental unit is available at that time or will be available 
  1.22  within a reasonable future time. 
  1.23     Subd. 3.  [RETURN OF APPLICANT SCREENING FEE.] If the 
  1.24  landlord or the landlord's agent does not perform a personal 
  1.25  reference check or does not obtain a consumer credit report or 
  1.26  tenant screening report, the landlord or the landlord's agent 
  2.1   shall return any amount of the screening fee that is not used 
  2.2   for the purposes authorized by this section to the applicant.  
  2.3   The screening fee may be returned by mail, may be destroyed upon 
  2.4   the applicant's request if paid by check, or may be made 
  2.5   available for the applicant to retrieve. 
  2.6      Subd. 4.  [DISCLOSURES TO APPLICANT.] A landlord or the 
  2.7   landlord's agent, prior to taking an application fee from a 
  2.8   prospective tenant, must disclose on the application form or 
  2.9   orally the name, address, and telephone number of the tenant 
  2.10  screening service the owner will use, unless the owner does not 
  2.11  use a tenant screening service. 
  2.12     Subd. 5.  [REMEDIES.] (a) In addition to any other 
  2.13  remedies, a landlord who violates this section is liable to the 
  2.14  applicant for the application fee plus a civil penalty of up to 
  2.15  $100, civil court filing costs, and reasonable attorney fees 
  2.16  incurred to enforce this remedy. 
  2.17     (b) A rental housing applicant who makes a material false 
  2.18  statement or provides material false information in connection 
  2.19  with a rental application is liable to the owner for a civil 
  2.20  penalty of up to $100, civil court filing costs, and reasonable 
  2.21  attorney fees incurred to enforce this remedy.  A tenant is not 
  2.22  liable under this paragraph if the owner did not comply with 
  2.23  subdivision 4 or if a unit was not rented to the applicant. 
  2.24     Sec. 2.  [REPEALER.] 
  2.25     Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 504.30, subdivision 5, is 
  2.26  repealed.