Agent asking $50 during application for an "Eviction check"
Me and me partner looked at a new apartment recently and the woman managing the property asked us for a non refundable $50 to do an eviction history check or something. Never heard of that before, is this something normal?
She told us that it is 50 per person,to be paid in cash, non refundable if rejected, but that the landlord will refund half if we're accepted (50 if both of us paid, 25 if only one person paid).
We paid 50 because we really liked the place. But we got rejected because the housing market here is brutal. My partner has really good credit and I have decent credit, we both have enough funds for a unit together, but seems it's not enough at the moment.
Is this legal? Or is there something we can do if we're rejected? I thought if we're rejected she would atleast give us the reason since we paid, but she just sent a message saying so and ghosted our calls after.
Assuming it's the eviction check, we've never been evicted in 3 years we've been here.
EDIT: Thank you everyone for replying. I guess we should've been more careful. It sucks but it is what it is I guess. For anyone in the future, it's a Second floor, 2BR rental unit in a building in 52 Aldwych Ave, near Pape subway station.
It's unfortunate, but we need to move to a new place by June 1 and I guess we just got desperate.