D.C. law defines an application fee as the total amount that an applicant for rental housing is required to pay to a landlord or property manager anytime before signing a lease, as a condition for the application to be evaluated or approved. 

The application does not include holding deposits, which are allowed under the law.

D.C. law considers a holding deposit to be the amount of money a prospective tenant paid after their application is approved, temporarily making the unit unavailable to other applicants. If a tenant accepts the unit, the holding deposit is applied to either their first month's rent or their security deposit. The holding deposit is not considered part of the application fee.

Yes. 

Before requesting any application fee, a landlord or property manager must notify you in writing of:

1. The amount and purpose of each fee or deposit, and whether each fee is refundable.

2. The types of information that will be accessed to conduct a tenant screening.

3. The specific criteria that will result in automatic denial of the application.
   

4. Any additional criteria that may result in denial of the application.

5. If a credit or consumer report is used, the name and contact information of the credit reporting agency and a statement of your rights to obtain a free copy of the credit report in the event of a denial or other adverse action.

6. An estimate of how many apartments will be available for rent over a specified period, by bedroom size and monthly rent. If such information is not available, then the housing provider must estimate how many apartments became available for rent each calendar month during the prior fiscal year.

7. How many days after receiving your application the housing provider will respond with an approval or denial decision.

8. A statement regarding your right  to dispute any inaccurate information that the housing provider relied on; your right to dispute any information based upon the housing provider's use of prohibited criteria, and your right to receive a response from the housing provider regarding any information that you disputed.

The law provides that if (1) the apartment is located in D.C., (2) the fee is being demanded before you have signed a lease, and (3) the fee must be paid in order for your application to be evaluated or approved, then the fee assessed is part of the total application fee. 

This practice may be in violation of the law. 

First, it is still a fee being demanded before a lease is signed, which is a potential red flag. 

Second, this fee is not a deposit intended to be applied to your first month’s rent, which is allowed by D.C. law.

 Third, despite the landlord or property management’s representation that the fee was assessed after approving your application, one important question is whether this approval is actually conditional on your payment of this additional pre-lease fee. If so, there is an argument that this post-approval, pre-lease fee is in fact an application fee.

The answer depends on the purpose of the fee.

If the landlord or property management intends to apply this move-in fee to your first month’s rent, then it is effectively a holding deposit by another name, and is allowed under the law.

However, if failure to pay the move-in fee before signing the lease would revoke the approval that you received, as to prevent you from signing a lease, then there is an argument that this post-approval, pre-lease fee is in fact an application fee.

It does matter what clever name landlords or property management companies come up with. D.C. law plainly prohibits pre-evaluation and pre-approval fees in excess of $50, adjusted for the CPI.

More important is whether the fee is a holding deposit, in which case the charge is permitted, and whether it must be paid before you are allowed to sign the lease, which potentially transforms it into an application fee.

No.

Any housing provider who, for any reason, fails to screen an application must refund the application fee within 14 days.

The prohibition against excessive application fees does not depend on whether you alerted property management of the law or asked for a refund. The demand for an application fee higher than the cap is the violation.

If you paid an excessive application fee in 2024 or later, and less than three years have passed since the fee was collected, you may have a case.

The prohibition against excessive application fees is not cancelled out by the act of signing of the lease or by your decision to move in. The demand for an application fee higher than the cap is the violation.

If you paid an excessive application fee in 2024 or later, and less than three years have passed since the fee was collected, you may have a case.