landlord tenant act; application fees

HB2243 - landlord tenant act; application fees

Housing

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor: Walt Blackman
Last action: 2026-01-20
Official status: House second read
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The effective date is listed as empty in the metadata; therefore, it cannot be confirmed when this law takes effect.

HB2243: Rules for Landlord Application Fees

This law requires landlords in Arizona to disclose details about application fees, charge only actual costs, and return any extra money collected.

What This Bill Does

Requires landlords to write down the fee amount, its purpose, screening details, and automatic denial rules before asking for an application or information.
Limits fees so they cannot exceed the landlord's real expenses for processing a rental application.
Mandates that all applicants pay the same fee amount for similar units offered by the same landlord at the same time.
Requires landlords to give a receipt and return any unused portion of the fee within 14 days after reviewing an application.
Prohibits charging fees if the unit is not available or will not be available soon.

Who It Names or Affects

Landlords who rent residential units in Arizona
Prospective tenants applying to rent a home

Terms To Know

Rental application fee: Any money charged for an application, background check, or credit screening before tenancy starts.
Actual expenses: The real costs a landlord pays to process and screen a rental applicant.
Treble damages: A penalty where the court orders the landlord to pay three times the amount of harm caused by breaking this law, plus court costs and attorney fees.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill does not state a specific dollar limit for application fees, only that they must match actual expenses.
The provided text defines when an effective date applies but does not list one in the metadata.
This law covers residential rentals under the Arizona Residential Landlord and Tenant Act.

Bill History

2026-01-20 House
House second read
2026-01-15 House
House Rules: None
2026-01-15 House
House Commerce: None
2026-01-15 House
House first read

Official Summary Text

HB2243 - landlord tenant act; application fees

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

HB2243 - 572R - I Ver

REFERENCE TITLE:
landlord tenant act; application fees

State of Arizona

House of Representatives

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

HB 2243

Introduced by

Representative
Blackman

AN
ACT

amending title 33, chapter 10, article 1,
Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding section 33-1320; relating to the Arizona
residential landlord and tenant act.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Title 33, chapter 10, article 1,
Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 33-1320, to read:

START_STATUTE
33-1320.

Landlord rental application fees; disclosure; limitations;
liability; definition

A. Before requesting a rental
application fee or screening information from a prospective tenant, a landlord
shall disclose in writing to the prospective tenant the following information:

1. The amount and purpose of any
rental application fee, including a disclosure of the landlord's anticipated
expenses for which the fee will be used, or an itemization of the landlord's
actual expenses incurred.

2. The types of information that will
be accessed to conduct a tenant screening, including the name of any credit or
consumer reporting agency that will be contacted.

3. Any specific criteria that will
result in an automatic denial of the prospective tenant's rental application.

B. A landlord may not charge a
prospective tenant a rental application fee if any of the following applies:

1. The landlord does not intend to
use the entire amount of the fee to cover the landlord's actual expenses in
processing the rental application.

2. The rental application fee is a
different amount than a rental application fee charged to another prospective
tenant who applies to rent either:

(
a
) The same
dwelling unit.

(
b
) If the
landlord offers more than one dwelling unit for rent at the same time, any
other dwelling unit offered by the landlord.

3. The landlord knows or should know
that a rental unit is not available at the time the prospective tenant submits
a rental application or will not be available within a reasonable future time
of when the prospective tenant submits a rental application.

C. A landlord that charges a
prospective tenant a rental application fee shall:

1. PROVIDE the prospective tenant
with a written or electronic receipt for any rental application fee received.

2. Remit to the prospective tenant
any portion of the rental application fee that exceeds the landlord's actual
expenses in processing the application within fourteen calendar DAYS after
processing the application.

D. A landlord may not approve or deny
a prospective tenant's rental application without reviewing the prospective
tenant's rental application and conducting an individualized assessment of the
PROSPECTIVE tenant based on uniform tenant SCREENING criteria.

E. A landlord that violates this
section is liable for treble damages plus court costs and reasonable attorney
fees.� This section DOES not limit the right of an aggrieved person to recover
damages under any other applicable law.

F. For the purposes of this section,
"rental application fee":

1. means any sum of money, however
denominated, that is CHARGED or accepted by a landlord from a prospective
tenant in connection with the prospective tenant's submission of a rental
application, including any BACKGROUND check, consumer report or credit
screening of a prospective tenant or any nonrefundable fee that precedes the
ONSET of tenancy.

2. Does not include a refundable
security deposit or any rent that is paid before the ONSET of tenancy.
END_STATUTE