Are you tired of receiving unserious rental applications? Are you losing money by footing the bill for tenant screening? It doesn't have to be this way.
Rental application fees are common landlord practices in Northern Virginia.
Charging a fee will deter unserious renters from applying and wasting your time. Plus, it covers the cost of tenant screening and the administrative labor that follows it.
A property management company can help you collect application fees and run background checks to find the best tenants. But, how much should you charge as an application fee? There is a legal limit landlords need to know about.
Keep reading to learn more.
Charging Application Fees
Northern Virginia landlords can charge application fees to cover expenses like tenant screening. Virginia law states that landlords cannot charge more than $50. HUD landlords can only charge $32 or less.
Because these fees are used for background checks, they are non-refundable charges. This can cause disputes with the applicant if they are denied. Be sure to make this clear before accepting any rental application fees.
Application fees can also cover the cost of labor from a property management company.
These companies handle administrative tasks like application viewing. The fees you charge can go towards the time it takes to verify the information on the application.
Application Fee Benefits for Landlords
There are various benefits of collecting application fees. You can find quality tenants and avoid wasting time with unserious applicants.
Find Quality Tenants
A property management company can use an applicant's fee to cover the cost of tenant screening. Tenant background checks are essential if you want to rent to quality tenants and reap consistent rental income.
The fee can be used to verify the following about an applicant:
- Credit history
- Eviction history
- Criminal history
- Employment
A property manager can conduct a criminal background check on your behalf. Using the criteria you provide, they can accept or deny an applicant based on their findings.
Outsourcing this task is beneficial if you want to stay compliant as a landlord. Property managers will follow fair housing laws that prevent landlords from discriminating against applicants.
Weed Out Unserious Applicants
Landlords waste a lot of time going through applications from unserious renters. By charging an application fee, you weed out people who are unsure about living on your property.
Rental fees help identify serious prospective tenants, reducing the amount of applications you receive. This can also reduce the amount of time spent screening renters.
How a Property Management Company Can Help
A property management company like Chambers Theory does it all. Since 2018, we've helped Northern Virginia landlords with day-to-day property operations, including collecting rental application fees.
Our founder, Tommy Chambers, has 17 years of property management industry experience. Our team understands how to stay compliant and find success.
We've grown at an extraordinary rate due to our commitment to excellence. Our operation command model delivers qualitative and quantitative factors to landlords.
As the only property management company in the area with the Capacity to Care for investors, we know we can help you. Contact us today to get started.
