A landlord who never gets a credit report or checks references on an applicant must refund the entire screening fee. How Landlords Can Use the Screening Fee.Yes, a landlord in California must obtain the prospective tenant's consent to run a background check. Why would it be illegal? Most California rental applications will include a section asking for your consent to run a credit check and background check. It is weird to ask you to apply before seeing it but if it is a hot market where rentals are very competitive it isn't unheard of. I am 6 months pregnant and where we're living now isn't allowing us to resign the lease because my credit is not high enough. RentSpree has you covered. If you obtain a tenant's credit report as part of the screening process, they're entitled to a copy of it if they ask for it. The Fair Credit Reporting Act provides you with rights as a rental applicant and as a tenant.