Some landlords are asking ask tenants to pay a deposit when they apply to rent a place. The application says that the deposit will be put towards the security deposit or the first month’s rent if the tenant is accepted. This is illegal. Landlords cannot collect application fees, or collect deposits except at the time a tenancy agreement has been entered into. Some tenants who have paid these illegal application deposits have found it difficult to get their money back. You may want to reconsider renting from a landlord who would charge an illegal application “deposit”. See the section on [[Security Deposits and Additional Fees]].