Who pays the screening fee?

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Hello,

I was wondering who should have to pay the screening fee on cozy.co the landlord or the tenant? What do you do?

[Kelly N.]

I don't use Cozy.co, but my tenants pay for their screening.  It's actually part of my screening- if they don't have the funds, they probably won't qualify.  If they can't pass the background check they'll still risk it if you are paying, and might not if they are paying for it.  If they aren't paying in person, it is also a chance to see if they can manage to pay using our preferred method- a Quickbooks e mailed invoice- that way I know they can pay their rent that way too.

There are some markets where landlords pay for background checks, so if you are in one of those then you should pay it.  The only time I have paid for the background check was when we buy a house with tenants already in place- if they want a new lease after theirs runs out they have to pass our background checks.  Since it isn't their fault the previous owner didn't require a background check or didn't pass on the results to us, I pay for it.