[syshum]

Personally I consider charging an "application fee" to be slightly scamy anyway. I remember, many many many years ago, when charging such a fee was unusual and normally done by places I would not want to rent from anyway

If you feel the need to run a background check on your tenants, that should be the cost of doing business

Of course those times changed and one of many reasons I stopped renting...

[neogodless]

It costs me $35 to run a background/credit check. I paid for that... once. And the prospective tenant passed, but backed out on the apartment. Since then, I've asked productive tenants to pay the $35 fee. Most are fine with that, and none have backed out from renting once they've paid that small fee. (So far all have cleared the check.)

[syshum]

I would only pay it if it was refundable if you refuse me later, that is a compromise I am willing to make

Places that have several hundred dollar non-refundable applications fees like the one in the story are the one I take issue with