Complaint Review: ADI Realty & Property Mgmt - Internet Colorado

To respond to the complaint about the $40 application fee. If a potential tenant sees and likes a property then it is customary to apply for that property. We at ADI charge $40 for our application fees to cover all our third party verifications. NONE of that money is kept or retained by ADI. It all goes to check credit, criminal backgrounds, evictions, employment etc. in order to consider the tenant applying.

I am not sure who you are that filed the complaint and/or what property you are referring to but if you would have called me I would have happily explained our company process and procedure to you prior to submitting the application to us especially since $40 is a lot of money to you as mentioned in your complaint.

Maybe next time make sure you let the management company know everything about your situation prior to submitting an application and risking getting denied because you will lose your application fee. This process and procedure is an industry norm.

As the comment states, running a background/credit check is perfectly legal however unfortunate. However, the if the landlord is taking three and choosing based on his personal preference as the comment states, this is discrimination and illegal per Fair Housing laws. To a degree using any information within a background check can also be illegal but much of this is grey area and the credit check, becoming more popular, is also a grey area.

I own rental units and I screen prospective tenants-credit check and criminal background check.  These checks cost me about $30 each through the services I use and yes, I require the applicant to consent and pay for these checks.

Not everyone who is interested in my rentals pays this fee because I interview prospective tenants (when I show a unit), make them aware of my lease requirements, pet policies, deposit requirements, and credit/criminal checks and conduct a first cull based on this initial interview. 

At this point, some folks will decide that they don't wish me to run a credit check/criminal background check and that is the end of it-no application fee paid.  I explain these things BEFORE a prospective tenant is allowed to fill out a rental application form.

I then use this short list (normally one to three applicants per available unit) and run the checks in a sequencial order (by whom I desire as a tenant the most.)  If the first applicant doesn't pass the checks, then I run the second applicant, and so forth untill an applicant does pass the credit/criminal checks and signs a lease agreement.  This is what I do with the $30 (non-refundable) applicant fee I charge.

The first applicant that passes the checks is offered a lease.  If this applicant signs a lease agreement, I then apply the $30 towards the first month's rent.  Any applicants that I do not run the checks for, I refund their $30 application fee (most folks will write me a check for $30 and I return the check, uncashed, to them.)

Hopefully this manager is doing something similar, but you might be correct in your suspicion that he's merely pocketing the money.  You should ask him if he runs credit and criminal background checks.

I just want you to know that in many circumstances, an application fee is appropriate to help defray the cost of conducting the "tenant screening process" and is NOT merely an opportunity for someone to pocket some easy money.  In my experience, tenants who desire a peaceful and SAFE place to live do not mind paying a modest application fee.  We have tenants who have resided with us for over 7 years.

Good luck with your housing search.