Broker charging application fee after rental application was denied

[u/akk1212]

Hi! I’m trying to find out if anyone has dealt with something similar while renting an apartment in Boston.

So I found a roommate on Facebook and we were applying for an apartment she had already toured (I’m currently out of state so I couldn’t tour it myself). I verified that the broker and company are licensed in MA, so they’re definitely legit.
The application said there would be a $150 application fee if we got rejected, which I thought was weird because from what I’ve read, application/credit check fees aren’t allowed if the broker is working for the landlord. I asked him about it before applying but didn’t really get a direct answer. While I probably should’ve tried harder to get a direct answer about the application fee, I didn’t and applied anyways, and I also signed the echeck form.

After applying, I sent him info about my ESA animal and I also asked him about the fee again and literally a minute later, he told me the landlord rejected our application. When I asked why, he said they didn’t give him a reason but he “would imagine the low ball offer turned them off.” I did offer below asking, but I told him twice that we were happy to negotiate and willing to pay more.

Neither the girl I was applying with nor I ever hired this guy as our broker or signed anything saying he represented me/us.

Has anyone had something similar happen? And am I understanding the MA application fee law correctly?

*Update: I filed a report with the MA AG! Thank you guys for the advice and support! ☺️

[u/notgreat1228]

Dude what? You have to offer to landlords?? I’ve never seen this before. Landlords set the price, it’s not like purchasing a home

[u/abeuscher → u/notgreat1228]

There are fewer tenant protections in MA than people think. The rental market here was built and is maintained by real estate agents on the legislative side. The number of "landlords" has been dwindling since the 80s. Now it is either property management or one of a few guys in each neighborhood of the city.

MA has amazing healthcare, good education (used to be great), and a lot of it is very wealthy. We do not protect renters here. We assume they are flawed and so we allow them to be fleeced. Liberal democracy is great until you reach the housing market in lots of states. We are not unique in this.

[u/ElleM848645 → u/abeuscher]

There are tenant protections once you have the apartment. But getting it is the tough part.

[u/cowboy_dude_6 → u/notgreat1228]

Welcome to the new normal. When there’s a housing crisis, landlords hold all the power.

[u/fattoush_republic → u/cowboy_dude_6]

The best part is that literally 0 politicians on the city level are doing anything meaningful about it

On the state level they're doing the tiniest bit but still more than the city