The state House hopes to give prospective renters a break on the application fees they face when leasing an apartment.

House Bill 1310 passed the lower chamber Monday, proposing limits on the fees, which can add up fast. The bill restricts application fees to the price of what is necessary to screen residents—such as credit reports, reference checks or tenant screening reports. The bill requires the fees to be refunded if the applicant is never screened.

The House Democratic press office quoted the bill’s sponsors, Reps. Chris Kennedy, D-Lakewood, and Dominique Jackson, D-Aurora:

“Some landlords are using rental application fees as a source of profit, rather than to simply find good tenants,” said Rep. Kennedy. “By limiting these fees to actual costs and ensuring tenants aren’t charged when they aren’t even screened, we’re giving more people a chance to find rental housing without going broke.”

“This is a commonsense move to ensure that landlords only charge the actual cost of screening applicants and that they give a receipt to potential tenants,” said Rep. Jackson… “It’s expensive to move and Coloradans shouldn’t have to pay inflated and unnecessary fees.”