Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
(Salt Lake City-AP) -- A proposed ordinance in Salt Lake County would lift the ban on charging rental application fees, and some are saying it would harm the people who can least afford it.
In some places, landlords charge fees of around 50 dollars -- just for applying to rent an apartment. But Salt Lake County banned those fees in the early 1990s. Kay Fox, a community organizer, says that before the ban took effect, some landlords wouldn't even bother renting apartments -- they'd just collect the nonrefundable fees from a lot of applicants. If the fees are allowed, it will be even harder for poor people and domestic violence victims to find someplace to live.
The County Council will consider lifting the ban at a meeting tomorrow.
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
