5.32.060 Charging of application fees.
A. Apartment owners, operators, and managers may charge a tenant application fee to prospective tenants of residential properties only if:
1. There is a rental unit actually and currently available for rent; and
2. The fee charged reasonably represents the actual incremental costs of processing the application, including, but not limited to, the cost of checking credit history, criminal history references, and verification of references and other information on the application.
B. An apartment owner, operator, and manager may only process one application at a time until such application is accepted or rejected.
C. Application forms must allow the applicant to choose a method for return of the application fee as either:
1. Mailing it to an applicant’s chosen address as stated on the application form;
2. Destroying it;
3. Holding for retrieval by the tenant upon one business day’s notice.
D. An apartment owner, operator or manager may accept additional applications with the required tenant application fee, provided only one application fee is processed each time. If the available unit is rented to another applicant, the apartment owner, operator or manager shall return the unprocessed fee to the prospective tenant in accordance with the prospective tenant’s instructions.
E. An application fee shall be refunded to the prospective tenant within fourteen days if the application has not been processed.
F. Apartment owners, operators, and managers shall accept from a prospective tenant a verified credit report or a verified criminal history that is dated within thirty days of the application and shall waive the portion of the application fee which relates to such credit report and/or criminal history. (Ord. 8/1/2006O-13 § 1 (part); Ord. 6/21/2005O-6 (part))