Cal. Civ. Code § 30
Reusable tenant screening report
Operative Text
Reusable tenant screening report. (a) Definitions. In this Section: "Application screening fee" means a request by a landlord for a fee to cover the costs of obtaining information about a prospective tenant. "Consumer report" has the same meaning as defined in Section 1681a of Title 15 of the United States Code. "Consumer credit reporting agency" means a person which, for monetary fees, dues, or on a cooperative nonprofit basis, regularly engages in whole or in part in the practice of assembling or evaluating consumer credit information or other information on consumers for the purpose of furnishing consumer reports to third parties and that uses any means or facility of interstate commerce for the purpose of preparing or furnishing consumer reports. "Reusable tenant screening report" means a written report, prepared by a consumer credit reporting agency, that prominently states the date through which the information contained in the report is current and includes, but is not limited to, all of the following information regarding a prospective tenant: (A) the name of the prospective tenant; (B) the contact information for the prospective tenant;(C) a verification of source of income of the prospective tenant;(D) the last known address of the prospective tenant; and(E) the results of an eviction history check of the prospective tenant in a manner and for a period of time consistent with applicable law related to the consideration of eviction history in housing.(b) Providing a reusable tenant screening report. (1) If a prospective tenant provides a reusable tenant screening report that meets the following criteria, the landlord may not charge the prospective tenant a fee to access the report or an application screening fee. Those criteria include the following:(A) the report was prepared within the previous 30 days by a consumer credit reporting agency at the request and expense of a prospective tenant;(B) the report is made directly available to a landlord for use in the rental application process or is provided through a third-party website that regularly engages in the business of providing a reusable tenant screening report and complies with all State and federal laws pertaining to use and disclosure of information contained in a consumer report by a consumer credit reporting agency;(C) the report is available to the landlord at no cost to access or use; and(D) the report includes all of the criteria consistently being used by the landlord in the screening of prospective tenants.(2) A landlord may require an applicant to state that there has not been a material change to the information in the reusable tenant screening report.(c) If an ordinance, resolution, regulation, administrative action, initiative, or other policy adopted by a unit of local government or county conflicts with this Act, the policy that provides greater protections to prospective tenants applies. (d) Nothing in this Section prohibits a landlord from collecting and processing an application in addition to the report provided, as long as the prospective tenant is not charged an application screening fee for this additional report.
Under 765 Ill. Comp. Stat. 705 § 30, when a prospective tenant supplies a qualifying 'reusable tenant screening report' — one prepared by a consumer credit reporting agency within the past 30 days at the tenant's own expense, available to the landlord at no cost, and covering the criteria the landlord consistently uses — the landlord is barred from charging any fee to access that report or any separate application screening fee. The provision sets out specific content requirements for such a report, including income verification, eviction history, and contact information. Where a local ordinance offers greater protections to prospective tenants than this state provision, the more protective local rule governs.
Plain English — not legal advice.
Under 765 Ill. Comp. Stat. 705 § 30, compliant operators generally review whether a submitted screening report meets all four statutory criteria — prepared within 30 days, at the applicant's expense, accessible to the landlord at no cost, and covering the landlord's standard screening criteria — before deciding whether an application screening fee may be collected. Landlords may ask applicants to confirm in writing that no material changes have occurred since the report was prepared, and may still collect and process additional application information as long as no screening fee is charged for that supplemental review. Operators working in jurisdictions with local tenant-screening ordinances should also check whether those local rules provide greater protections, since § 30(c) requires the more protective standard to apply.
General guidance for property managers — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult an attorney for advice on your case.
Section 765 Ill. Comp. Stat. 705 § 30 gives prospective tenants the right to avoid application screening fees by providing a compliant reusable tenant screening report — one they obtained from a consumer credit reporting agency within the last 30 days and that covers the landlord's standard criteria. If a landlord charges a fee despite receiving a qualifying report, that charge may constitute a violation of this provision, and tenants can explore options such as raising the violation in a housing proceeding, filing a complaint with a relevant state or local agency, or contacting a tenant-rights organization for guidance. Tenants in cities or counties with local screening-fee ordinances may have additional or stronger protections under § 30(c), which preserves whichever rule is more favorable to the prospective tenant.
General guidance for tenants — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult a tenant-rights organization or attorney for advice on your case.
Generated September 18, 2026 — auto-generated, not yet human-reviewed. See /transparency for methodology.
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