How much can a landlord charge prior to move in? (Seattle: for sale, apartment complexes)

[AFriendOfAFriend]

I'm trying to rent a house in the Seattle suburbs (Mercer Island). The rent is $2,100. First he's charging me $100 dollars for a credit/background check which seems insanely high (he'd originally quoted me $140 but then changed it to $100 the second time he mentioned it.) With first and last months rent, non-refundable cleaning fee of $250, $1,000 pet deposit and a security deposit (can't remember the exact amount, and of course, I haven't seen anything in writing yet: I asked to look over the lease while the background/credit check were in process and he ignored my request), the move-in cost is insanely high (and I'm a single mom with two kids - the problem is my daughter has a very bad mold allergy and all other 3 bedroom rentals we looked at were really old and smelled of mold when you walked in and she lost an entire year of school last year because our previous two houses were old and moldy.)

When I did the math after he told me about all the move-in costs (at the time I remember how much he was charging for a security deposit), it ended up being almost $7,000 - which I now have to borrow from family.

I vaguely recall hearing a few years ago that landlords can only charge x% of the rent in move-in fees, but have looked everywhere and can't find any info to that effect.

Help?

[allforcats]

Those charges are insane, including the credit check charge. Insane!

There are many clean places to rent, where the landlords don't attempt total robbery of the tenant before taking residence.

First: this is the Tenant's Union of Washington. They can tell you what the laws are, what the limitations are on landlords, and what a potential tenant's expectations should be, either by phone or on their website.
http://www.tenantsunion.org/

Second: I don't know what resources you're using to find a place, but here are several:
NWapartments: Seattle apartment rentals, house rental listings, rental classifieds and other property rentals in Seattle, Tacoma, Bellevue and other Washington areas, cities and neighborhoods
Seattle Classifieds - Seattle Weekly
craigslist: seattle-tacoma classifieds for jobs, apartments, personals, for sale, services, community, and events
classifieds.thestranger.com | seattle classifieds, employment, rentals, buy sell trade, musicians, escorts
and rent.com, forrent.com, apartments.com

[70Ford]

When I moved to Seattle, I moved there without a job. One of the apartment complexes ( In Bellevue) wanted 3 years rent up front as a deposit - which was about 50,400 bucks. You think I'm kidding.... I wish I was.

I called many places and they were perfectly willing to take a deposit for the amount of the lease (6, 9, whatever months.) I found a job within a month so the point is moot, but I found out that it is quite hard to get an apartment here if you are unemployed. Some places flat out said "No, can't do it." I had the money for a year...that was no big issue. But 3 years? Are you freaking high?

[tortoisegirl]

Seems like some complexes have the prestige to turn people away. Set a higher standard to appeal to a certain market, and you can charge more for rent.

[seattlenextyear]

Geesh, ours gave us a month free as an incentive.

[Jake840]

I am pretty sure it is now law that you can't charge more for tenant screening than actual cost. A full credit/rental history/criminal check shouldn't be more that $50.