standinfor.me

Email templates · Apartment leasing office

Email template to request a refund of an apartment application fee

You paid to apply for an apartment and now there is no apartment. An application fee pays for screening: the credit check and background check the building runs on you. A holding fee or holding deposit is different; it takes the unit off the market while your application is processed. Either one can be worth asking for back when the building rented the unit to someone else before processing you, never ran the screening, turned you down after taking a holding deposit, or charged more than your state allows. Some states cap application fees or require the building to refund whatever was not spent on screening; California and New York both have rules like this. Email fixes the date and the amount and gets you a written answer you can take to your card issuer if needed.

Before you send

  • The receipt or card charge for the fee, with the date and the amount, and whether it was labeled an application fee, administrative fee, or holding deposit.
  • What happened to the unit: it was leased to someone else, you were denied, or you withdrew. If you withdrew, a holding deposit is often forfeited, so know that going in.
  • Any written proof that the screening never ran, such as no inquiry appearing on your credit report or a message saying the unit was no longer available.
  • The name of the leasing agent you dealt with and the unit or floor plan you applied for.
  • A quick look at your state's rule on application fees. A search for your state plus "rental application fee law" usually turns up the cap and refund rule if there is one.
Subject Refund request for application fee paid [date] for [unit or floor plan] 
Hi [leasing agent or office name],

On [date] I paid [amount] as [an application fee / a holding deposit] for [unit number or floor plan] at [building name]. [One or two sentences on what happened: the unit was rented to someone else before my application was processed, I was told on a certain date that it was no longer available, or the screening was never run.]

Since the fee was for screening that did not take place and a unit I was not able to rent, I'd like to ask for a refund of [amount] to the card I paid with. If part of the fee was actually spent on a credit or background check, please send me an itemized statement of what was spent and refund the rest.

Could you confirm by [date, about a week out] that the refund has been issued? I'm glad to send any receipts you need.

Thanks,
[Your name]
[Your phone number]

Everything in brackets is yours to fill in. Keep the rest as it is or change the tone to match how you write.

After you send

  • Many leasing offices refund a holding deposit without argument once the unit is gone, and refund an application fee if the screening never ran. Expect the credit to take a week or two to appear.
  • A bad answer is "all fees are non-refundable" with nothing more. Reply once and separate the two questions: was the screening actually run, and what does your state's rule say. A fee for a service that was never performed is a different thing from a fee for one that was.
  • If they stop replying after two weeks, send one short follow-up on the same thread, then contact the property management company rather than the building's office.
  • If the amount is meaningful and they refuse or go silent, dispute the charge with your card issuer with the thread attached. Chargebacks for services not provided are routinely granted, and the window is typically 60 days from the statement date.

Or don't send it yourself

Forward the job to myagent@standinfor.me and let StandIn run the whole thread.

StandIn is an email assistant that handles conversations with businesses for you. You write it one email saying what you need. It writes to the business, waits for the answer, follows up when they go quiet, pushes back on the number when it should, and brings the results back to your inbox for you to decide. You don't need to install an app or sign up. The first email you send is already the start of the task.

Hand this to StandIn opens an email to myagent@standinfor.me with the job already written out

To myagent@standinfor.me Subject Get my apartment application fee refunded 
Hi StandIn,

Please get a refund of the application fee I paid for an apartment I never got.

The building: [name, address, and the leasing agent's name and email].
The unit: [unit number or floor plan].
What I paid: [amount, date, and whether it was called an application fee, administrative fee, or holding deposit].
What happened: [the unit was rented to someone else / I was denied / they never ran the screening, and the date I found out].
Refund to: [the card I paid with].

Ask for the full amount or an itemized statement of what was actually spent on screening, and follow up if they go quiet.

Thanks,
[Your name]

Related templates