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Grand Rapids Application Ordinance Information

The City of Grand Rapids adopted a residential rental application fee ordinance effective since November 7, 2018. The ordinance establishes rules for the collection and return of rental application fees and has requirements regarding documentation and disclosures in addition to those required under state and federal laws.

Please note: the ordinance only applies if an application fee is being charged to prospective tenants. If you do not charge a fee, there is nothing to do apart from following related state and federal laws. The full ordinance can be found here.

The administrative policy for the ordinance can be viewed here. The policy establishes practices and procedures for the implementation of the residential rental application fee ordinance and provides further guidance for interpretation and enforcement.

This presentation provides an overview of the rental application fee ordinance and how it will be enforced:

Click here to download the presentation.

To help our members comply with the new ordinance, the RPOA has developed sample documents including: sample applicant notice, sample screening criteria, sample rental application fee disclosure statement, and sample adverse action/denial letters. Members can access these documents here.