Rental Application and Tenant-Screening Fee Requirements in Rhode Island
At a glance
| Governing law and coverage | R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-59; landlords, lessors, sublessors, real-estate brokers, property-management companies, and designees dealing with prospective tenants, subject to Chapter 34-18 exclusions |
|---|---|
| Fees allowed or prohibited | Rental application fee prohibited; actual cost of required official state criminal-background check and/or credit report allowed only if applicant does not supply qualifying recent report (§ 34-18-59(a)-(b)) |
| Maximum charge and adjustment | No more than actual cost of obtaining required official state background check and/or credit report; no numeric or indexed ceiling (§ 34-18-59(b)(2)) |
| Permitted costs and charge timing | Charge only for required official state check/report missing from applicant's qualifying 90-day materials; landlord's independent check/report must be at landlord's expense (§ 34-18-59(b)) |
| Before-screening disclosures | No special fee, unit-availability, screening-criteria, report-source, dispute-right, or application-order disclosure in § 34-18-59 |
| Receipt, report copy, and refund | Applicant charged for background check or credit report must receive a copy; no special fee receipt or unused/unconsidered-fee refund deadline (§ 34-18-59(b)(2)) |
| Applicant-supplied or reusable reports | No fee for required official state background check or credit report supplied by applicant if issued within 90 days; landlord may obtain independent report only at own expense (§ 34-18-59(b)(1), (3)) |
| Application order and adverse action | No statewide first-in-order, first-qualified, single-application, or state denial-reason notice process in the fee statute |
| Remedies and stronger local rules | Chapter rights enforceable by action; aggrieved party may recover appropriate damages and injunctive relief (§ 34-18-5); no fee-specific fixed damages or local-preemption/stronger-local-law clause |
Application fees are prohibited
Rhode Island General Laws § 34-18-59(a) bars a landlord, lessor, sublessor, real-estate broker, property-management company, or designee from requiring or demanding a rental application fee from a prospective tenant.
The rule is part of the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. Section 34-18-8 excludes specified arrangements unless the parties expressly agree to the chapter, including listed institutional residence, transient lodging, commercial letting, and transitional housing.
Narrow actual-cost exception for required reports
Section 34-18-59(b) permits a covered person to require an official state criminal-background check from the named state or local law-enforcement source and to require a credit check, subject to two paths:
- If the applicant provides the required official state background check or credit report issued within 90 days of the rental application, no fee may be charged for the supplied report.
- If the applicant does not provide the qualifying report, the applicant may be charged no more than the actual cost of obtaining the required official state background check and/or credit report.
An applicant charged under the second path must receive a copy of the background check or credit report. The statute requires the copy as part of the charge rule; it does not make the copy conditional on an applicant request.
The landlord may separately obtain an independent background check or credit report, but only at the landlord's own expense.
Enforcement and process boundaries
Rhode Island General Laws § 34-18-5 provides that chapter rights and obligations are enforceable by action unless a provision specifies a narrower effect. It allows an aggrieved party to recover appropriate damages and injunctive relief, subject to a duty to mitigate damages. Section 34-18-59 itself states no fixed damages amount, refund multiplier, or special cure period.
The fee section also creates no first-in-order, first-qualified, or single- application process and no state denial-reason notice. It states no application- fee-specific local preemption or express preservation of stronger local rules.
What trips people up
A report cost is not an application fee. The general application charge is prohibited. Only the actual cost of the missing required official state check and/or credit report fits the exception.
The 90-day rule turns on issuance, not submission. The applicant's report must have been issued within 90 days of the rental application.
An independent landlord report stays the landlord's expense. The statute does not let a landlord bypass the applicant-supplied-report rule by labeling a second check “independent” and passing its cost to the applicant.
Common questions
Can a landlord charge a processing fee with no report cost? No. Section 34-18-59(a) prohibits the rental application fee, and subsection (b) creates only the actual-cost report exception.
Must I receive the report if I pay for it? Yes. A prospective tenant charged for a background check or credit report must receive a copy.
Can I supply my own recent report? Yes, for the no-fee rule, if it is the required official state criminal-background check or credit report and was issued within 90 days of the application.
Does Rhode Island require applications to be processed in order? No such process appears in § 34-18-59.
Statutes and sources
- Rhode Island General Laws § 34-18-59 — fee ban, qualifying recent reports,
actual-cost exception, copy duty, and landlord-paid independent reports.
[A] landlord ... shall not be allowed to require or demand any prospective tenant to pay for a rental application fee.
Official source: https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE34/34-18/34-18-59.htm (accessed 2026-07-21) - Rhode Island General Laws § 34-18-5 — chapter enforcement and remedies.
Any right or obligation declared by this chapter is enforceable by action unless the provision declaring it specifies a different and limited effect.
Official source: https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE34/34-18/34-18-5.htm (accessed 2026-07-21) - Rhode Island General Laws § 34-18-8 — excluded arrangements.
Unless the parties expressly agree to be governed by the provisions of this chapter, the following arrangements are not governed by this chapter ...
Official source: https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE34/34-18/34-18-8.htm (accessed 2026-07-21) - Rhode Island General Laws § 34-18-11 — dwelling-unit, landlord, and owner definitions.
“Dwelling unit” means a structure or part of a structure that is designed or intended to be used as a home, residence, or sleeping place by one or more persons.
Official source: https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE34/34-18/34-18-11.htm (accessed 2026-07-21)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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