What to collect first
- Exact Avalon or AVA property and unit
- Lease-option page saved when you applied
- Application or screening fee receipt
- Holding or reservation payment terms
- Security-deposit amount and approval conditions
- Signed application terms and lease
- Property-state deposit and screening-fee rules
Promotional amounts are not portfolio-wide rules
Current Avalon property pages can advertise reduced or waived application fees and reduced security deposits for select homes and lease terms. Those offers are property-, date- and approval-specific, so compare your receipt with the exact offer shown when you applied.
Separate screening, holding and security money
An application or screening fee, a holding or reservation payment and a refundable security deposit serve different purposes. Put each amount on its own line and identify whether it is refundable, credited at lease start or retained under stated conditions.
State-specific documents matter
AvalonBay publishes jurisdiction-specific application terms. Do not use a California screening-fee document to analyze a tenancy in another state; use the exact state and property paperwork.
Before challenging a move-in amount
- Save screenshots or PDFs of the unit offer.
- Match every payment to a receipt.
- Identify refund or credit conditions.
- Compare the final lease-start ledger with the application terms.
- Apply the property-state rule if a statutory cap or refund rule is relevant.
Compare this fee across management companies
Use the company-specific disclosure above first, then compare the same fee category across other operators that publish a source-based RentBillCheck guide.
Official sources
Current official unit example showing promotional application-fee and security-deposit terms tied to select homes, dates and lease lengths.
AvalonBay CommunitiesCalifornia Application / Screening Fee Terms ↗Official California document illustrating how AvalonBay itemizes resident-screening and credit-checking fees in that jurisdiction.