House Business Committee holds bill limiting paid rental applications after hours of testimony

The House Business Committee on March 5, 2025, held Senate Bill 10-42 after extended testimony from tenants, property managers, landlord associations and service providers. The substitute motion to hold the measure passed 13–3, leaving the bill in committee for further work.

The bill, presented for the record by Representative Clay Handy (District 27) as a Senate-sponsored measure, would limit how many rental applications a property owner or manager may charge and begin screening at one time; the language in the current draft allows landlords to accept unlimited applications but restricts charging and screening to two paid applications at a time. The bill includes a carve-out for third-party screening platforms (for example, Zillow) when the applicant pays the third party directly.

Supporters told the committee SB 10-42 targets what they called abusive practices by some landlords and managers who collect multiple nonrefundable application fees for a single vacancy. Witnesses cited examples of application fees ranging from common amounts of $50–$100 to claims of fees as high as $427 and one testimony that a household paid…