Apartment dwellers might be entitled to collect referral fee

Many of us had invited friends to a gathering in their apartment home, and one guest asks about what it’s like to live there. If you have selected a community you love, you might be sharing that with friends and encouraging them to live nearby. What could be better than friends living right next door?

Thanks to some recent changes in the Arizona State Law (HB2039), current residents in a community may be able to earn referral fees for lessees that they refer into a community. There are many important regulations around these referrals and the fees, but this can be a great way to earn rent credit and share your community. You need to check with your community to see if they offer these “finder fees” and how much the rent credit could be if a lease is signed.

Referral fees can only be awarded to residents in the form of rent credits. In the past, there had been a $200 cap for these finder fees, but a recent bill passed by the Arizona State Legislature has removed this cap. Now there’s no limit the number of finder fees that a resident can earn.

Current residents may not negotiate the lease for or with their friends. They may not show units to a prospective lessee either. These prospects should be turned over to the professional staff on site to show available units, discuss lease rates and terms, or participating in the negotiation of the lease. These rules protect all parties.

It’s important that residents follow the regulations around these referrals. They are intended to protect both the community and the lessee and most people have learned to stay out of financial negotiations of friends. Consider referring friends or colleagues into your community and connect them to the leasing staff. You just might have more friends in your community soon.

The Arizona Multihousing Association is the statewide trade association for the apartment industry.