What can I ask a tenant?

Ask about the home and the tenancy, not the person: move-in date and length of stay, how many people will live in the unit, pets, and the rent range and your screening criteria. Ask every prospect the same way, and keep income questions neutral, because source of income, including Section 8 and other housing vouchers, is protected in California.

No. Civil Code 1940.3 bars a landlord or its agent from asking about immigration or citizenship status. You may still request the information or documents needed to verify a prospective tenant's identity or financial qualifications.

No more than your actual out-of-pocket costs, and never more than $30 per applicant, adjusted annually for the Consumer Price Index since January 1, 1998. No state agency publishes the adjusted figure; the Berkeley Rent Board, a city agency, lists $68.96 as the 2026 maximum. You also owe an itemized receipt for every fee and a refund of any part you did not use.

Yes, within limits set by Civil Rights Department regulations. You may not seek or consider arrests without a conviction, infractions, diversion, sealed, dismissed or expunged convictions, or juvenile records, and a denial must rest on a directly related conviction. Oakland and Berkeley restrict criminal history screening further.

Most landlords may collect no more than one month's rent as security, on top of the first month's rent. A natural person, or an LLC whose members are all natural persons, that owns no more than two residential rental properties with no more than four units offered for rent in total may collect up to two months' rent, except from a service member. The limit does not apply to security collected before July 1, 2024.

Only to confirm it is at least 200% of the annual rent. When you use financial information, you may not consider or ask about the amount of income otherwise, and you may not require more than that. For an applicant with a housing subsidy, the 200% test applies only to the portion of the rent the tenant pays.

There is no dollar cap, but the fee is limited to your actual or average cost of processing, and every applicant for the same unit pays the same fee. You cannot charge any fee to an applicant who gives you a portable tenant screening report, which a landlord generally must accept. Any unused part of a fee must be refunded within 20 calendar days after processing.

No. A landlord may not demand, request or collect information about citizenship or immigration status, with limited exceptions such as government program requirements. A tenant can recover a civil penalty of up to $2,000 per violation.

Only within limits. You may not consider an arrest record from any time, or any conviction more than five years before the application, except for listed offenses such as methamphetamine manufacture or distribution and offenses requiring sex offender registration. If you deny an application, you must give a written notice stating the reasons.

Two months' rent, a cap that has applied since August 7, 2023. From January 1, 2026, a landlord also may not keep a deposit to cover damage or a defective condition that existed before the tenancy.

No. Florida's residential landlord-tenant law has no section on application fees, so it sets no dollar limit. Section 83.425 also preempts local rules on rental applications and the fees associated with them, along with the screening process and security deposits, so cities and counties cannot add a cap.

State law does not require it, because the Florida Fair Housing Act does not list source of income. Miami-Dade County, Broward County and unincorporated Orange County list source of income as protected, and Orange County says it includes Housing Choice Vouchers. Florida also preempts local landlord-tenant rules, so check with the county office.

Never ask about race, color, national origin, sex, disability, familial status or religion, the classes the Florida Fair Housing Act protects. Some counties add more: Miami-Dade, for example, also covers ancestry, pregnancy, age, marital status, sexual orientation, source of income and gender identity or expression.

No. Section 83.49 sets no maximum. You must hold the money in a separate account at a Florida financial institution or post a surety bond, disclose how it is held in the lease or within 30 days, and return it within 15 days after the lease ends or send written notice of a claim within 30 days.

Within 7 days after the application is submitted, with written notice of approval or denial and the reason for any denial. If you do not deny it in time, you must lease to the servicemember as long as the other terms of the application and lease are met, and the rule cannot be waived.

No. Since January 2023, the Illinois Human Rights Act has protected source of income in housing, including Housing Choice Vouchers. According to the Illinois Department of Human Rights, a statement such as Section 8 not accepted is discriminatory, and a minimum income standard may use only the tenant's portion of the rent.

Only where state or federal law requires it, and then every applicant gets the same questions. The Illinois Department of Human Rights warns against screening out applicants without a Social Security number and lists alternatives such as driver's licenses, state or municipal IDs, consular IDs, passports and ITINs.

Only after the applicant prequalifies on every other criterion and is told a criminal background check will follow. Convictions more than three years old and arrests without a conviction cannot be considered, the applicant gets a copy and five business days to dispute it, and a denial needs an individualized assessment and a written explanation.

Your tenant selection criteria, notice of the applicant's right to dispute inaccuracies in their conviction history and to offer evidence of rehabilitation or other mitigating factors, and a copy of Part 700 of the Commission's rules or a link to its website with its address, email and phone number.

The Illinois Attorney General says there is no legal limit on the amount. In buildings or complexes of five or more units, the deposit must be returned within 45 days of move-out, or an itemized statement with paid receipts given within 30 days, and buildings of 25 or more units owe interest on deposits held at least six months.

No. At or before the start of a tenancy, neither a landlord nor the landlord's agent may require a tenant or prospective tenant to pay more than first month's rent, last month's rent, a security deposit equal to the first month's rent and the cost of a lock and key. An application fee, a screening fee or a deposit to hold the unit is not on that list.

No. Massachusetts bars discriminating against someone who receives public assistance, rental assistance or a housing subsidy because they receive it, or because of any requirement of the program. A program's own requirements are therefore not a lawful reason to refuse either.

Through the state's CORI system, a landlord evaluating housing applicants can obtain pending charges, including cases continued without a finding until they are dismissed, misdemeanor convictions for 5 years and felony convictions for 10 years after disposition. You must give the applicant a copy of any criminal record you hold before questioning them about it.

A consumer reporting agency may not disclose a sealed eviction record or use it in a score or recommendation, unless the record was open for inspection at the court within 30 days of the report. If your application asks about prior evictions, it must include a statement that an applicant with a sealed record may answer no record.

The deposit may not exceed the first month's rent. Give a receipt, a written statement of the unit's condition, and within 30 days a receipt naming the Massachusetts bank holding it in a separate interest-bearing account. Return what is owed within 30 days after the tenancy ends, or risk three times the deposit plus court costs and attorney's fees.

There is no statewide dollar cap in Minn. Stat. 504B.173. The statute limits when you can charge a fee instead: not when you know or should have known no unit is available, not without a written receipt, and you must return any part of the fee you did not use for a reference check or a credit or tenant screening report.

Not for every eviction. Since January 1, 2025, a landlord may not deny a rental application based on a pending eviction action, a court file that is not public, has been expunged or has been destroyed, or an eviction action that did not result in a writ of recovery of premises and order to vacate.

A rental application must give the applicant the option to submit either an individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN) or a Social Security number. You may not deny an application solely because the applicant gave an ITIN, but you may still deny it if the credit report attached to the ITIN is insufficient.

14 days. You must notify the applicant within 14 days of rejecting the application and identify the criteria they did not meet. If a consumer report played a part, federal law also calls for an adverse action notice.

No. A landlord must not require a current or prospective tenant to pay an additional fee, charge or deposit for a service or support animal. If you have a pet policy fee, the lease must disclose that ban.

Ask about the unit, the timing and your written criteria: move-in date, length of stay, how many people will live there, pets and rent range. Say what the application fee is up front, and keep questions about criminal record, marital status, children, pregnancy, disability or drug tests off every call, text and form.

Only after a conditional offer. Under the Fair Chance in Housing Act, a housing provider may not make any oral or written inquiry about criminal record before then, except for a methamphetamine production conviction on the premises of federally assisted housing and lifetime sex offender registration. The Act covers every rental except a unit in an owner-occupied building of no more than four units.

From May 1, 2026, landlords and their agents may not charge more than $50 for an application fee or a similar fee, and separate administrative or screening fees count toward the same $50. The cap does not apply to units in one- or two-family dwellings, and violations carry penalties of up to $1,000 each.

Since January 12, 2026, any minimum income standard must be calculated only on the portion of the rent the tenant will pay, not the full monthly rent. Source of lawful income is protected, and it includes rental assistance vouchers, child support, alimony, and disability and veterans' benefits.

One and a half times one month's rent, and any yearly increase may not exceed 10% of the current deposit. Prepaid funds held to secure future rent, including last month's rent, count toward that limit.

Yes. The Division of Human Rights says housing providers may ask about income, including its source, and require documentation of income, but must accept all lawful sources of income equally. Lawful source of income includes child support, alimony, social security, Section 8 vouchers and any other form of housing assistance.

No. The Division of Human Rights says any advertisement, statement or response to an inquiry indicating that vouchers or subsidies are not accepted is in itself a violation of the Human Rights Law. Not responding at all to applicants with lawful sources of income, or delaying review of their applications, can also be an unlawful refusal to rent.

Nothing for processing, reviewing or accepting an application. Outside co-ops, the only allowed charge is reimbursement for a background or credit check, capped at the actual cost or $20, whichever is less. You must waive it if the applicant provides a check conducted within the past 30 days, and you may collect it only after giving the applicant a copy of the check and the receipt or invoice.

No. A landlord may not refuse to rent because an applicant was involved in a past or pending landlord-tenant action. If you requested tenant screening bureau data or court records and then refused, the law presumes a violation, and the Attorney General may seek civil penalties of $500 to $1,000 per violation.

Statewide, you may not ask about or act on an arrest or criminal accusation not then pending that ended in the applicant's favor, or on youthful offender adjudications, adjournments in contemplation of dismissal or sealed convictions. In New York City, the Fair Chance Housing Law adds that you may check criminal history only after a conditional offer and the Notice of Rights.

Only after reviewing general eligibility, making a conditional offer and giving the applicant the Fair Chance Housing Notice of Rights. Reviewable history is limited to felony convictions within 5 years, misdemeanor convictions within 3 years and convictions that require sex offense registration at the time of the check. The applicant then gets a copy of what you reviewed and five business days to respond.

No. Under the roommate law, a lease clause limiting occupancy to the tenant and the tenant's immediate family is unenforceable, and a single tenant may add one additional occupant and that occupant's dependent children. Reasonable occupancy limits set by local, state or federal rules still apply.

No deposit or advance may exceed one month's rent, with carve-outs such as seasonal use units and owner-occupied cooperative apartments. Within fourteen days after the tenant moves out, the landlord must provide an itemized statement of any amount kept and return the rest, or lose the right to keep any of it.

No. The Property Code's subchapter on rental applications sets no dollar limit, but if you reject an applicant without having given them your printed tenant selection criteria, you must return the application fee and any application deposit. An applicant is deemed rejected if you do not give notice of acceptance by the seventh day after they submit a completed application on your form.

When you give someone a rental application, you must make available a printed notice of your tenant selection criteria and the grounds for denial, such as criminal history, previous rental history, current income and credit history. The applicant signs an acknowledgment, and if it is not signed, there is a rebuttable presumption that you did not give the notice.

The Texas Fair Housing Act does not list source of income as a protected class. Cities and counties may not require landlords to accept tenants whose rent includes federal housing assistance, except in ordinances protecting military veterans.

Never ask about race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin or disability, the classes the Texas Fair Housing Act protects. In Texas, race discrimination includes discrimination based on hair texture or a protective hairstyle, and familial status covers a person who is pregnant or in the process of obtaining custody of a child. Cities can add classes, so check the ordinance where your property sits.

No. Texas sets no maximum deposit in its security deposit subchapter; what it regulates is the refund. You must refund the deposit on or before the 30th day after the tenant surrenders the premises, with a written, itemized list of any deductions, and you may not keep any part for normal wear and tear.

Before obtaining any information about a prospective tenant, notify them in writing, or by posting, of the types of information you will access, the criteria that may result in denial, the consumer reporting agency's name and address and the applicant's rights if a consumer report is used, and whether you accept a comprehensive reusable tenant screening report.

There is no dollar cap. You may charge for the costs of obtaining a tenant screening report only after giving the required notice, and if you screen applicants yourself, your actual costs may not exceed what screening services customarily charge in the area. If you accept comprehensive reusable reports, you may not charge the applicant for your own report.

Yes, with one narrow exception. Washington bars refusing to rent or setting different terms because of source of income, which includes housing assistance. If you use an income threshold, subtract the voucher or subsidy from the monthly rent first. A violation can cost up to four and one-half times the monthly rent, plus court costs and attorneys' fees.

Since June 6, 2023, the Seattle Office for Civil Rights no longer enforces the ban on asking. You still may not require an answer, or take adverse action based on an arrest record, conviction record or criminal history, except sex offender registry information about adults convicted as adults, after a legitimate business reason analysis.

No more than 25 percent of the first month's rent. Give a receipt and a written statement of the conditions for keeping it when you take it, credit it to the first month's rent or the security deposit if the tenant moves in, and keep it only as those conditions allow if they do not.

Yes, if you text from a local 10-digit number through a messaging provider. Twilio says anyone sending texts over a 10DLC number from an application to the US must register a brand and a campaign, and carriers treat every text sent through a messaging provider as application-to-person, so replies to renters who texted first count too. Twilio blocks unregistered texts to US phones with error 30034.

Twilio lists a one-time $4.50 fee to register a brand, a one-time $15 vetting fee per campaign, and $1.50 to $10 per campaign per month, or $2 a month for a sole proprietor. A standard brand adds a one-time $41.50 vetting fee. Telnyx lists the same $4.50, $15 and $1.50 to $10 amounts and passes them through at cost.

Twilio estimates under one week for campaign approval, and says there is no exact timeline because carriers, Twilio and outside vetting partners all have to approve. Telnyx warns that resubmitting a campaign rejected by external vetting can cost more.

Yes, with what they asked for. In a 2015 ruling, the FCC found that a one-time text sent immediately after a consumer's request, holding only the requested information and no marketing, does not violate the TCPA. Marketing texts sent with an autodialer, such as a price drop or a different unit, need the renter's prior express written consent.

Within a reasonable time and no more than 10 business days, under rules the FCC adopted in 2024. Replies of stop, quit, end, revoke, opt out, cancel or unsubscribe always count, other wording counts if a reasonable person would read it as a request to stop, and you may send one confirmation text with no marketing.

In California, using a bot online to mislead people about its artificial identity in order to drive a sale is unlawful, and a bot that clearly discloses it is a bot is not liable. The FTC, quoting its chair, has also said that using AI tools to trick or mislead people is illegal and that there is no AI exemption from existing law.

Outbound ones do. The FCC ruled in February 2024 that AI-generated voices are artificial voices under the TCPA, so calls made with them need the called person's prior express consent, or prior express written consent if they advertise or telemarket. The message must identify the business at the start and give a phone number.

From January 1, 2027, SB 26-189 requires a business that uses automated decision-making technology to materially influence a consequential decision, including housing, to give clear and conspicuous notice when consumers interact with it. It also requires a plain-language explanation within 30 days of an adverse outcome and a way to request meaningful human review.

Yes, from all parties when a cell or cordless phone is involved. Penal Code 632.7 makes recording such a call without everyone's consent a crime, and Penal Code 637.2 lets an injured person sue for the greater of $5,000 per violation or three times actual damages.

In a September 2025 survey of 800 US renters by Rently, a vendor that sells leasing software including an AI leasing agent, 74% said they would feel less comfortable if AI use is not disclosed, and 57% wanted human support available at any time.