New York: Rental Application and Tenant-Screening Fee Requirements
The short answer
New York bars fees for processing, reviewing, or accepting a rental application, but permits reimbursement for background and credit checks up to the lesser of actual cost or $20. The charge must be waived when the applicant supplies a check conducted within the past 30 days, and it cannot be collected unless the applicant receives the check copy and the provider's receipt or invoice. Cooperative owner or shareholder applications have separate exceptions.
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This is the general rule in New York. Ezel applies current New York law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| 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 | No general availability or screening-criteria disclosure in current § 238-a; pending A9294-A would add pre-evaluation disclosures |
| Receipt, report copy, and refund | Check copy plus provider receipt/invoice are collection preconditions; no general rejection-refund deadline in current § 238-a |
| Applicant-supplied or reusable reports | Fee must be waived for an applicant-supplied background or credit check conducted within the past 30 days; no broader reusable-report system (§ 238-a(1)(b)) |
| Application order and adverse action | No state application-order rule or separate denial notice in current § 238-a |
| Remedies and stronger local rules | Lease/contract waiver or limitation is void (§ 238-a(3)); no fee-specific damages formula or express local-preemption clause in § 238-a |
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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 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.
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.
The statute does not create a broader portable-report program with prescribed
contents or a digital access process.
What trips people up
The $20 figure is a ceiling, not a standard charge. If the actual cost is
less than $20, the lower actual cost controls.
The report and invoice are conditions to collection. They are not merely
documents that may be supplied later after the landlord has already kept the
money.
Cooperative applications do not all follow one exception. Ordinary
owner/shareholder applications may use the actual-cost exception, while the
listed supervised cooperatives need reasonable, agency-approved charges.
A9294-A is not current law. It would add screening-criteria and report-source
disclosures plus a refund process, but as of July 25, 2026, its official page
shows only that it was ordered to the Assembly third-reading calendar.
Common questions
May a landlord charge a separate application or processing fee? No. The
ordinary rule in § 238-a(1)(a) bars charges for processing, reviewing, or
accepting the application; § 238-a(1)(b) allows only the described check-cost
reimbursement.
Can I avoid the check charge with a report I already have? Yes, if you
provide a copy of a background check or credit check conducted within the past
30 days.
Does denial automatically require a refund? Current § 238-a does not create
a general rejection-refund deadline. Its structure instead bars the ordinary
application charge and limits when check costs may be collected. A9294-A would
add a refund rule when required screening disclosures were missing, but it has
not 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 2026-07-20)
- 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 2026-07-20)
- 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 2026-07-20)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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