Midvale mulls background-check fee for renters

Housing advocate says: The charge is a burden on those who can least afford to pay it

By Cathy McKitrick
The Salt Lake Tribune
Salt Lake Tribune

MIDVALE - The police chief in this central Salt Lake Valley community believes lax rules for renters are attracting the "criminal element."
So city officials are considering an ordinance that would allow landlords to charge prospective tenants a $25 application fee to cover the cost of credit and criminal-background checks.
Midvale police Chief Gerald Maughan told City Council members Tuesday that their city - over half of its 10,000-plus housing units are occupied by renters - has a reputation for being "easy" when people with records are looking for a place to live.
Mayor JoAnn Seghini agrees.
"This has been brought to the front because we've become a target for a lot of people who want to avoid background checks," she said. "If apartment owners have to bear those costs themselves, frequently those checks aren't done."
The mayor said a public hearing will be scheduled later this spring to discuss the proposal.
At present, Midvale and Salt Lake City are the only Utah communities that prohibit the fees. Midvale's ban, instituted about a decade ago, was created to match action taken by Salt Lake County to rein in some greedy landlords who used the fee to pad their bank accounts.
Landlords were taking several applications for a single rental and charging a fee on all of them, said Paul Smith, president of the Utah Apartment Association.
"So the county banned [it], but it was like throwing out the baby with the bath water," he said.
Then, in early 2003, Salt Lake County amended its ordinance to allow one $25 tenant-application fee per available unit. If the application is denied, the next applicant can then be charged a fee.
The county ordinance, which is a model for Midvale, also protects some low-income renters. If prospective tenants qualify under federal poverty guidelines, the fee is waived.
Landlords who violate the county ordinance can be charged with a class B misdemeanor.
The fee has drawn opposition from low-income housing advocates.
Tim Funk, housing-project director for Crossroads Urban Center, describes the fee as regressive and pernicious, saying it burdens those who can least afford it.
Only one in five people qualify for direct housing assistance, Funk said. Some low-income folks may be just above federal poverty guidelines.
"If you're lower income and don't have housing assistance, you might go to five or six places to find a place to rent. If you're being charged the fee at each place, it's a burden," Funk said.
Coming up with security deposits, first and last month's rent, cleaning deposits and utility-hookup fees can make getting into a rental unit difficult, he said.
"In a real and symbolic way, it's an important issue," Funk said.
However, Funk does support the idea of doing background checks, but he believes small raises in rents could cover that cost.
Seghini views the application fees as incentives for landlords to conduct the necessary background checks to screen tenants.
"When we changed the law, some apartments did the checks anyway, but raised rents to cover it," she said. "Then apartments just down the street would have lower rents and would not do the checks. It caused problems."
One property manager says background checks cost him $200 or more a month and are run on anyone over age 18.
Jeff Burton, who manages Brighton Place, a 336-unit complex in Midvale, welcomes the idea of recovering those costs through a city-sanctioned fee.
cmckitrick@sltrib.com

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