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Proposal to cap rental application fees amended to $10 then fails on House floor
Summary
The House debated HB 393, a bill to regulate rental application fees and timelines, reduced a proposed $20 cap to $10 on amendment, but the full bill failed 26–44 on final passage.
House Bill 393, a proposal to regulate rental-application fees and processing times, was considered and amended on Feb. 24. The bill’s sponsor outlined problems with excessive application fees and proposed a statutory cap. Members debated local control, the potential financial burden on renters seeking housing, and whether a statutory cap would encourage landlords to shift costs elsewhere.
Representative Bradshaw proposed an amendment to preserve local ordinances; that amendment was adopted to allow cities with existing limits to keep them in force. Floor debate focused on whether the statutory cap would simply raise fees to the cap where they were previously lower, and whether low-income renters would face a cash-flow burden paying multiple application fees while searching scarce housing.
Representative Wallace and others argued the bill included several consumer protections (refundability, maximum single-fee rules and a requirement that applications be processed within three business days). An on-floor amendment reduced the cap from $20 to $10; that amendment passed. On final passage the House recorded 26 yes votes and 44 no votes and the bill failed and was filed.
