Rising housing demand in Boise is driving up prices and competition for buyers and renters alike. People looking for rentals often have to pay multiple application fees and those can add up quickly.
Boise doesn’t regulate rental application fees, but Boise City Councilwoman Lisa Sánchez told Idaho Matters she wants to cap the fees at $30 per application.
“It should be the cost of doing business, but I know that people are charging so we figured that a nominal fee would be a great place to start," said Sánchez.
Sánchez says that application fees are often in place to cover background checks of potential renters, but she’s heard of fees as high as $100. Renters have told her they don’t always know what the money is being used for.
“We do have property owners, we do have landlords who are ethical and who are doing business with integrity and I certainly would love to uplift their voices," said Sánchez. "But we do have those folks who are taking advantage of the situation."
Sánchez says restricting fees would allow landlords to pay for background checks, but prevent the pocketing of application fees.
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