Housing application fees: never pay to enter a housing lottery

Housing lotteries (random drawings) run by cities and waitlists (lists of names) run by housing offices should not charge you an application fee to enter or join. Some private buildings do charge a small screening fee for a credit and background check, and California limits it. You should never pay a broker, website or social media account to apply or to see listings. If you paid, act the same day.

The rules vary by program, so this guide separates normal fees from scams, using official sources and what we see in our own listings. For the basics of applying, see our step-by-step application guide.

Which fees are normal?

A screening fee is the main one. A building may charge it to cover the cost of checking your credit, references and background. Pay only the building or a screening company it names.

What we see. As of October 5, 2026, 63 of the 1,571 open listings we track state an application fee in the flyer or application we read. The fees run from $11 to $100, and the middle is $30. Of those 63, 62 are rentals and one is a home for sale, 48 are in California and 3 are lotteries. We track 145 lotteries in all, so most lotteries do not state a fee.

None of our 41 New York City listings states one. Another 95 listings say there is no fee. The rest do not mention fees in what we read. See our listings page for each building's terms.

What the law says in one state. California's Civil Code 1950.6 lets a landlord charge an application screening fee to cover the costs of getting information about you. The fee cannot be more than the actual out-of-pocket costs plus the reasonable value of the landlord's time. The law sets a base limit of $30 per applicant, and the limit may be adjusted each year for inflation.

A landlord cannot charge the fee when they know or should have known that no apartment is or will be available within a reasonable time. The landlord must give you a receipt. If it does not run a reference check or get a credit report, it must return the part of the fee it did not spend. The law allows a fee only if the landlord screens applicants in the order received, or returns the fee to anyone not selected.

Other states have other rules, so ask the building what it charges, when it is due and whether it is refundable.

Which fees are not normal?

• A fee to enter a city lottery. New York City's 311 service says you do not need to pay any brokers' fees or application fees to apply for housing sponsored by its housing agencies. That is housing listed on Housing Connect, the city's lottery website.
• A fee to join a public waitlist. The inspector general of the federal housing department says housing offices and government agencies will never ask you to pay to join a waitlist. They will also never ask you to pay for admission to housing assistance programs. Its warning is about vouchers (government help that pays part of your rent) and other government-assisted housing waitlists.
• A fee for processing or priority. New York City says it investigates people or organizations that charge fees for processing applications for its sponsored housing projects. It also investigates anyone who advertises a project as "HPD Sponsored" when it is not listed on Housing Connect. HPD is the city's Department of Housing Preservation and Development. We found no official program that sells priority.
• A fee to see listings or get "insider" access. This is our advice, not a rule we found. Real listings are posted free by the housing office or building. Treat a demand for payment before you can see them as a red flag.

How do scammers work?

• Fake waitlist announcements. The inspector general warns of fraudsters who announce on social media that Section 8 or other assisted-housing waitlists are opening soon. They then take your personal information or payment and disappear. In June 2024 Maui County warned of one such post that claimed applications would open from May 22 to June 15. The county said it had no plans to open applications in the immediate future.
• Fake emails. New York City's housing agency says scammers pose as its staff or as staff of a contractor for its voucher programs. They use fake email addresses, such as Gmail or Yahoo accounts. For those programs, it says real emails come from the housing agency's own email domain or from the contractor's email domain.
• Fake rental ads. The Federal Trade Commission says scammers copy real listings, ask for application fees or deposits by wire transfer, gift card or cryptocurrency, and rush you. If you pay that way, it is like sending cash and you probably cannot get it back.

How can you check a site or message?

1. Start from the housing office. Go to the housing office's or city's own website, not a link from an ad, and find the same notice.
2. Check the address and phone. Many government sites end in .gov. Some use other endings, so also compare the phone number with one from a source you already trust, such as the federal housing department's contact list.
3. Search the property. The Federal Trade Commission advises searching the address with the owner's name. If other ads show a different owner, it is a sign of a scam.
4. Do not pay by wire, gift card or cryptocurrency, and do not send a Social Security number to someone you reached through an ad.
5. Ask for the rules in writing, including any fee, when it is due, and whether it is refundable.

What if you already paid?

1. Contact the company you used to pay, such as your bank, a payment app, a wire transfer service or a credit card issuer, right away. Tell them a scammer tricked you and ask for a refund. The Federal Trade Commission advises this.
2. Report it at the Federal Trade Commission's fraud reporting site, as the Federal Trade Commission advises. If the scam used a housing program's name, the inspector general's bulletin gives a hotline for programs funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 1-800-347-3735. In New York City, 311 takes reports of fees for sponsored housing.
3. Protect your identity. If a scammer used your Social Security number, go to the Federal Trade Commission's identity theft site. If it was not used or you are not sure, the Federal Trade Commission points you to the Federal Trade Commission's data breach steps.

Where do you find real lotteries and lists?

Use the official page for each program. Our waitlists page links to the official page for each list we track, and our guide to how housing lotteries work explains what happens after you enter. Our New York City page shows what is open there, and our qualify check compares your income with the listings we track. What you type stays in your browser.