1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to landlords and tenants; requiring landlords 
  1.3             to accept current tenant reports on prospective 
  1.4             tenants if available; regulating tenant application 
  1.5             fees; amending Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 
  1.6             504B.173; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota 
  1.7             Statutes, chapter 504B. 
  1.8   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.9      Section 1.  [504B.172] [LANDLORD MUST ACCEPT CURRENT TENANT 
  1.10  REPORT.] 
  1.11     If a prospective tenant has available, through a 
  1.12  residential tenant screening service, a residential tenant 
  1.13  report issued in the past 45 days that includes rental history, 
  1.14  credit history, and criminal history, a landlord or the 
  1.15  landlord's agent must not charge the prospective tenant an 
  1.16  applicant screening fee or application fee.  The landlord must 
  1.17  process the tenant's application using the available report for 
  1.18  no charge, or the landlord may choose to pay another residential 
  1.19  tenant screening service to receive a similar report on the 
  1.20  applicant.  If a prospective tenant does not have a report 
  1.21  issued in the past 45 days available, then section 504B.173 
  1.22  applies.  The remedies in section 504B.173, subdivision 4, also 
  1.23  apply to this section.  This section does not apply to rentals 
  1.24  in manufactured home parks as defined in section 327.14, 
  1.25  subdivision 3. 
  1.26     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 504B.173, is 
  2.1   amended to read: 
  2.2      504B.173 [APPLICANT SCREENING FEE.] 
  2.3      Subdivision 1.  [LIMIT ON NUMBER OF APPLICANT SCREENING 
  2.4   FEES.] A landlord or the landlord's agent may not charge an 
  2.5   applicant a screening fee when the landlord knows or should have 
  2.6   known that no rental unit is available at that time or will be 
  2.7   available within a reasonable future time unless the landlord 
  2.8   enters into a rental agreement with the applicant. 
  2.9      Subd. 2.  [RETURN AMOUNT OF APPLICANT SCREENING FEE.] If 
  2.10  the A landlord or the landlord's agent does not perform may 
  2.11  charge a tenant for the reasonable documented costs of the 
  2.12  landlord for a personal reference check or does not, to obtain a 
  2.13  consumer credit report, or to obtain a tenant screening report, 
  2.14  the landlord or the landlord's agent shall return any amount of 
  2.15  the screening fee that is not used for those purposes.  The 
  2.16  screening fee may be returned by mail, may be destroyed upon the 
  2.17  applicant's request if paid by check, or may be made available 
  2.18  for the applicant to retrieve.  The costs may be incorporated 
  2.19  into and prorated over the term of the lease or be due at the 
  2.20  time of entering into the lease. 
  2.21     Subd. 3.  [DISCLOSURES TO APPLICANT TENANT.] A landlord or 
  2.22  the landlord's agent, prior to taking an application fee from a 
  2.23  prospective tenant, must disclose on to the application form or 
  2.24  orally tenant the name, address, and telephone number of the 
  2.25  tenant screening service the owner will use, unless the owner 
  2.26  does not use a tenant screening service landlord used, if any. 
  2.27     Subd. 3a.  [MANUFACTURED HOME PARK EXEMPTION.] This section 
  2.28  does not apply to rentals in manufactured home parks as defined 
  2.29  in section 327.14, subdivision 3. 
  2.30     Subd. 4.  [REMEDIES.] In addition to any other remedies, a 
  2.31  landlord who violates this section is liable to the tenant or 
  2.32  applicant for the application fee plus a civil penalty of up to 
  2.33  $100, civil court filing costs, and reasonable attorney fees 
  2.34  incurred to enforce this remedy.