General Landlording & Rental Properties
Market News & Data
General Info
Real Estate Strategies
Landlording & Rental Properties
Real Estate Professionals
Financial, Tax, & Legal
Real Estate Classifieds
Reviews & Feedback
Updated almost 4 years ago,
Should I refund credit/background check fees due to mistake?
I would normally vet the basics (rental history, income, etc.) prior to actually having applicants pay and run credit and background checks (these would be last step). However, I made the mistake of forgetting to tell a couple applicants to disregard the credit/background check portion of the application (through Cozy), and they both completed them ($40 per applicant).
Both are nearly qualified (a couple more prior landlords to call tomorrow), however I can only proceed with one. They're both excited about the unit based on my conversations with them, however I will need to tell one of them they did not get the unit.
Should I refund the losing party their credit/background fee since I forgot to tell them not to request the checks, or is that somewhat standard that they might lose out on that money?