Rhode Island: Rental Application and Tenant-Screening Fee Requirements
The short answer
Rhode Island prohibits rental application fees. A landlord or other covered housing intermediary may charge no more than the actual cost of a required official state criminal-background check and/or credit report only when the applicant does not provide the required report issued within 90 days of the application; an applicant who is charged must receive a copy. A landlord may obtain an independent background check or credit report only at the landlord's own expense.
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This is the general rule in Rhode Island. Ezel applies current Rhode Island law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law and coverage | R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-59; landlords, lessors, sublessors, real-estate brokers, property-management companies, and designees dealing with prospective tenants, subject to Chapter 34-18 exclusions |
|---|---|
| Fees allowed or prohibited | Rental application fee prohibited; actual cost of required official state criminal-background check and/or credit report allowed only if applicant does not supply qualifying recent report (§ 34-18-59(a)-(b)) |
| Maximum charge and adjustment | No more than actual cost of obtaining required official state background check and/or credit report; no numeric or indexed ceiling (§ 34-18-59(b)(2)) |
| Permitted costs and charge timing | Charge only for required official state check/report missing from applicant's qualifying 90-day materials; landlord's independent check/report must be at landlord's expense (§ 34-18-59(b)) |
| Before-screening disclosures | No special fee, unit-availability, screening-criteria, report-source, dispute-right, or application-order disclosure in § 34-18-59 |
| Receipt, report copy, and refund | Applicant charged for background check or credit report must receive a copy; no special fee receipt or unused/unconsidered-fee refund deadline (§ 34-18-59(b)(2)) |
| Applicant-supplied or reusable reports | No fee for required official state background check or credit report supplied by applicant if issued within 90 days; landlord may obtain independent report only at own expense (§ 34-18-59(b)(1), (3)) |
| Application order and adverse action | No statewide first-in-order, first-qualified, single-application, or state denial-reason notice process in the fee statute |
| Remedies and stronger local rules | Chapter rights enforceable by action; aggrieved party may recover appropriate damages and injunctive relief (§ 34-18-5); no fee-specific fixed damages or local-preemption/stronger-local-law clause |
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Application fees are prohibited
Rhode Island General Laws § 34-18-59(a) bars a landlord, lessor, sublessor,
real-estate broker, property-management company, or designee from requiring or
demanding a rental application fee from a prospective tenant.
The rule is part of the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. Section 34-18-8
excludes specified arrangements unless the parties expressly agree to the
chapter, including listed institutional residence, transient lodging,
commercial letting, and transitional housing.
Narrow actual-cost exception for required reports
Section 34-18-59(b) permits a covered person to require an official state
criminal-background check from the named state or local law-enforcement source
and to require a credit check, subject to two paths:
- If the applicant provides the required official state background check or
credit report issued within 90 days of the rental application, no fee may be
charged for the supplied report. - If the applicant does not provide the qualifying report, the applicant may be
charged no more than the actual cost of obtaining the required official state
background check and/or credit report.
An applicant charged under the second path must receive a copy of the
background check or credit report. The statute requires the copy as part of the
charge rule; it does not make the copy conditional on an applicant request.
The landlord may separately obtain an independent background check or credit
report, but only at the landlord's own expense.
Enforcement and process boundaries
Rhode Island General Laws § 34-18-5 provides that chapter rights and obligations
are enforceable by action unless a provision specifies a narrower effect. It
allows an aggrieved party to recover appropriate damages and injunctive relief,
subject to a duty to mitigate damages. Section 34-18-59 itself states no fixed
damages amount, refund multiplier, or special cure period.
The fee section also creates no first-in-order, first-qualified, or single-
application process and no state denial-reason notice. It states no application-
fee-specific local preemption or express preservation of stronger local rules.
What trips people up
A report cost is not an application fee. The general application charge is
prohibited. Only the actual cost of the missing required official state check
and/or credit report fits the exception.
The 90-day rule turns on issuance, not submission. The applicant's report
must have been issued within 90 days of the rental application.
An independent landlord report stays the landlord's expense. The statute
does not let a landlord bypass the applicant-supplied-report rule by labeling a
second check “independent” and passing its cost to the applicant.
Common questions
Can a landlord charge a processing fee with no report cost? No. Section
34-18-59(a) prohibits the rental application fee, and subsection (b) creates
only the actual-cost report exception.
Must I receive the report if I pay for it? Yes. A prospective tenant charged
for a background check or credit report must receive a copy.
Can I supply my own recent report? Yes, for the no-fee rule, if it is the
required official state criminal-background check or credit report and was
issued within 90 days of the application.
Does Rhode Island require applications to be processed in order? No such
process appears in § 34-18-59.
Statutes and sources
- Rhode Island General Laws § 34-18-59 — fee ban, qualifying recent reports,
actual-cost exception, copy duty, and landlord-paid independent reports.[A] landlord ... shall not be allowed to require or demand any prospective
tenant to pay for a rental application fee.
Official source: https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE34/34-18/34-18-59.htm (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Rhode Island General Laws § 34-18-5 — chapter enforcement and remedies.
Any right or obligation declared by this chapter is enforceable by action
unless the provision declaring it specifies a different and limited effect.
Official source: https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE34/34-18/34-18-5.htm (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Rhode Island General Laws § 34-18-8 — excluded arrangements.
Unless the parties expressly agree to be governed by the provisions of this
chapter, the following arrangements are not governed by this chapter ...
Official source: https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE34/34-18/34-18-8.htm (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Rhode Island General Laws § 34-18-11 — dwelling-unit, landlord, and owner
definitions.
“Dwelling unit” means a structure or part of a structure that is designed or
intended to be used as a home, residence, or sleeping place by one or more
persons.
Official source: https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE34/34-18/34-18-11.htm (accessed 2026-07-21)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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