Are there any laws governing the use of rental applications?

In North Dakota,Yes, there are laws governing the use of rental applications. North Dakota law recognizes the landlord’s right to choose tenants and to require potential tenants to fill out a rental application before their application is accepted. Landlords must make sure that the rental application does not contain any discriminatory or unreasonable questions and that it does not discriminate against any protected classes. For example, Landlords are not allowed to ask for information about a tenant’s marital status, criminal background, medical history, or credit score. Landlords are also not allowed to ask tenants to pay an application fee unless the fee is necessary to cover the costs of obtaining the applicant’s credit report or other background information. Additionally, landlords must keep all rental applications confidential and may not share them with any third parties. If a landlord rejects an applicant’s rental application, they must give the applicant a written notice outlining the reasons for the rejection. The landlord must also provide the rejected tenant with a copy of the rental application and a list of any contacts they made in making the decision. In summary, North Dakota law does contain laws governing the use of rental applications. These laws protect tenants from discrimination and unreasonable inquiry and require landlords to keep rental applications confidential.

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