Rental Application and Tenant-Screening Fee Requirements in New York
At a glance
| Governing law and coverage | N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 238-a(1); landlords, lessors, sublessors, and grantors, with specified care/retirement-community and cooperative exceptions |
|---|---|
| Fees allowed or prohibited | Application processing/review/acceptance charges barred; only background- and credit-check cost reimbursement allowed (§ 238-a(1)(a)-(b)) |
| Maximum charge and adjustment | Lesser of actual cost or $20 cumulative; qualifying co-op owner/shareholder checks may exceed $20 only up to actual cost, or use reasonable agency-approved fees (§ 238-a(1)(b)) |
| Permitted costs and charge timing | Only background/credit-check costs; no collection unless the applicant receives the check copy and the conducting entity's receipt or invoice (§ 238-a(1)(b)) |
| Before-screening disclosures | Before collecting a check charge, provide the check copy and provider receipt/invoice; A9294-A/S10343 proposes separate pre-evaluation disclosures (§ 238-a(1)(b)) |
| Receipt, report copy, and refund | Check copy and provider receipt/invoice are collection preconditions; A9294-A/S10343 proposes a denial-related refund in specified circumstances (§ 238-a(1)(b)) |
| Applicant-supplied or reusable reports | Fee must be waived for an applicant-supplied background or credit check conducted within the past 30 days (§ 238-a(1)(b)) |
| Application order and adverse action | § 238-a(1)(b) conditions check-fee collection on providing the check and receipt; A9294-A/S10343 proposes disclosures before evaluation |
| Remedies and stronger local rules | Any lease/contract term waiving or limiting § 238-a is void (§ 238-a(3)) |
Requirements one by one
Prohibited application charges and permitted checks
Real Property Law § 238-a(1)(a) bars a landlord, lessor, sublessor, or grantor from demanding a charge for processing, reviewing, or accepting an application. The ordinary exception is the reimbursement allowed by § 238-a(1)(b) for the cost of a background check and credit check. The statutory phrase is “processing, review or acceptance of an application”; relabeling that charge as an administrative fee does not change what the payment is for.
The same paragraph excludes specified continuing-care, assisted-living, adult- care, senior-residential, and nonprofit independent-retirement arrangements. It also separately permits certain cooperative corporations to recover application-processing expenses when the applicant would become a dwelling-unit owner or shareholder.
Maximum charge and proof before collection
For an ordinary rental application, § 238-a(1)(b) caps the cumulative charge at the lesser of the actual check cost or $20. The landlord cannot collect it unless the applicant receives both a copy of the background or credit check and the receipt or invoice from the entity that conducted it. A $12 check costs at most $12 to the applicant; the $20 ceiling does not turn it into a $20 charge.
Cooperative applications have two cap exceptions. A qualifying cooperative may exceed $20 for an applicant who would become an owner or shareholder, but may recover no more than the actual check cost. A cooperative supervised under the listed Private Housing Finance Law articles may charge only reasonable fees approved by its supervising agency.
Applicant-provided recent checks
Section 238-a(1)(b) requires waiver of the check fee when the applicant provides a copy of a background check or credit check conducted within the past 30 days. For example, a check conducted 25 days ago meets the statutory age condition.
What trips people up
A9294-A and S10343 are not current law. They would add screening-criteria and report-source disclosures plus a refund process. As of September 30, 2026, A9294-A remained on the Assembly third-reading calendar and S10343 remained in Senate Judiciary.
Common questions
Does a recent credit check qualify without a background check? Yes. Section 238-a(1)(b) uses “or”: a copy of either kind of check conducted within the past 30 days triggers the check-fee waiver.
Does denial automatically require a refund? Section 238-a bars the ordinary application charge and requires the check copy and receipt or invoice before a check-cost charge is collected. A9294-A and S10343 would add a refund rule when required screening disclosures were missing, but neither has been enacted.
Statutes and sources
- N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 238-a(1)(a) — prohibited charges, covered actors,
exclusions, and cooperative processing-fee exception.
No landlord, lessor, sub-lessor or grantor may demand any payment, fee, or charge for the processing, review or acceptance of an application ... except background checks and credit checks as provided by paragraph (b) of this subdivision.
Official source: https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/RPP/238-A (accessed 2026-09-30) - N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 238-a(1)(b) — check-cost cap, recent-check waiver, collection proof, and cooperative exceptions.
The cumulative fee or fees for such checks is no more than the actual cost of the background check and credit check or twenty dollars, whichever is less ... The landlord, lessor, sub-lessor or grantor may not collect the fee or fees unless the landlord, lessor, sub-lessor or grantor provides the potential tenant with a copy of the background check or credit check and the receipt or invoice from the entity conducting the background check or credit check.
Official source: https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/RPP/238-A (accessed 2026-09-30) - N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 238-a(3) — no waiver or limitation.
Any provision of a lease or contract waiving or limiting the provisions of this section shall be void as against public policy.
Official source: https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/RPP/238-A (accessed 2026-09-30)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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