What is the Rental Application Fairness Act (RAFA)?
RAFA is a Colorado law that aims to protect tenants applying for housing by limiting what a landlord can charge for the application and limiting what the landlord can consider when deciding whether to rent to a prospective tenant.
What can a landlord charge me to process my rental application?
A landlord can only charge a tenant for the actual costs of processing their rental application. If a landlord does not use the entire amount of the fee to cover their costs, the landlord needs to make an effort to return the balance to the prospective tenant within 21 days.
What is a portable tenant screening report?
A portable tenant screening report is “a consumer report prepared at the request of a prospective tenant that includes information provided by a consumer reporting agency.”
The screening report must include the following: 1) name, 2) contact information, 3) verification of employment and income, 4) last-known address, 5) rental and credit history, 6) criminal history.
A valid tenant screening report must be:
- Completed within the previous 30 days
- Directly available to the landlord by the consumer reporting agency, OR provided through a third-party website that regularly provides consumer reports
- Free for the landlord to access, and
- Include a statement from the tenant that there has been no material change in the report since it was generated
How do I get a copy of my portable tenant screening report?
Can a landlord consider my criminal history?
When evaluating a tenant’s application, a landlord can only consider most criminal convictions that occurred within the last five years, measured from the date of the rental application. However, there are certain types of convictions that a landlord can consider no matter when they occurred, including 1) the production or distribution of meth, 2) offenses requiring the tenant to register as a sex offender, 3) stalking, and 4) murder and homicide crimes.
Arrests that do not result in a conviction cannot be considered at any time, regardless of the type of offense.
Can a landlord consider my rental history and credit history?
Can a landlord require that my income be 3x the rent?
What should happen if I get denied from housing I have applied for?
What can I do if I think a landlord violated the Rental Application Fairness Act?
- Filing a lawsuit against the landlord for damages. Landlords who violate RAFA can be held liable to the prospective tenant for $2,500 plus court costs and reasonable attorney fees.
- Filing a complaint with the Colorado Civil Rights Division
- Filing a complaint with the Attorney General
