HB 2856

                                 SECOND REGULAR SESSION
                    HOUSE BILL NO. 2856
                           103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
                          INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE SMITH (46).
 5867H.01I  JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
                                            AN ACT
 To amend chapter 441, RSMo, by adding thereto one new section relating to rental
      application fees.
 Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
        Section A. Chapter 441, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto one new section, to be
2 known as section 441.007, to read as follows:
        441.007. 1. For purposes of this section, the following terms mean:
2(1) "Premises", as defined in section 441.005;
3(2) "Rental agreement", any agreement, written or oral, between a landlord and
4 a tenant embodying the terms and conditions concerning the use and occupancy of
5 premises;
6(3) "Rental application", any information, written or oral, submitted to a
7 landlord by a prospective tenant for the purpose of entering into a rental agreement;
8(4) "Rental application fee", any sum of moneys, however denominated, that is
9 charged or accepted by a landlord from a prospective tenant in connection with the
10 prospective tenant's submission of a rental application or any nonrefundable fee that
11 precedes the beginning of tenancy. "Rental application fee" does not include a
12 refundable security deposit or any rent that is paid before the tenancy begins;
13(5) "Tenant", a person under a rental agreement to occupy the premises with the
14 landlord's consent to the exclusion of others.
152. A landlord shall not charge a prospective tenant a rental application fee unless
16 the landlord uses the fee to cover the landlord's costs in processing the rental
 EXPLANATION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is
 intended to be omitted from the law. Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language.
HB 2856  2
17 application. A landlord shall not charge a rental application fee greater than fifteen
18 dollars.
193. A landlord who receives a rental application fee from a prospective tenant and
20 does not use the entire amount of the fee to cover the landlord's costs in processing the
21 rental application shall remit to the prospective tenant the remaining amount of the fee.
22 A landlord shall make a good-faith effort to remit such amount within twenty calendar
23 days after processing the application.
244. A landlord shall, upon receipt of any moneys paid as a rental application fee,
25 furnish a receipt to the prospective tenant for the amount paid by the tenant. A
26 landlord shall provide a prospective tenant an electronic receipt, unless the prospective
27 tenant requests a paper receipt in which case a landlord shall provide the prospective
28 tenant with a paper receipt.
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