Delaware Tenant Screening Laws: What Landlords Can and Cannot Do
Delaware tenant screening laws cap what you charge to apply, limit security deposits, and protect an applicant’s source of income. Here is how to screen legally in 2026.
Screening applicants in Delaware sits at the intersection of three rule sets: the state Landlord-Tenant Code in Title 25 of the Delaware Code, the Delaware Fair Housing Act in Title 6, and the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act. Delaware tenant screening laws are more landlord-specific than most states realize, because the application fee itself is capped by statute and an overcharge carries a built-in penalty. Getting the process right protects your rental income and keeps you clear of a fair housing complaint.
This guide walks through exactly what you may screen, what each step can cost, and where Delaware law diverges from the federal baseline. It is written for landlords and property managers who want a defensible, repeatable process rather than a guess. If you are new to the mechanics, our overview of how to screen tenants step by step pairs well with the Delaware-specific rules below.
Video: a plain-language walkthrough of Delaware tenant screening laws, application fees, and adverse action.
Key Takeaways: Delaware Tenant Screening Laws
- Application fee is capped by statute. Under 25 Del. C. 5514 it cannot exceed the greater of 10% of one month’s rent or a statutory fifty-dollar ceiling, and overcharging exposes you to double damages.
- Security deposits are limited. No more than one month’s rent for a lease of a year or longer, returned within 20 days with an itemized list.
- Source of income is protected. The Delaware Fair Housing Act bars rejecting an applicant simply for using a housing voucher.
- The FCRA governs the report. Get written consent, and send an adverse action notice whenever a report drives a denial.
What Delaware Law Lets You Screen
Delaware gives landlords broad authority to evaluate an applicant’s ability to pay and history as a renter. With written permission, you may obtain a consumer report that covers credit, rental and payment history, employment and income, and public records such as criminal convictions and civil judgments. You may set objective standards – an income-to-rent ratio, a minimum credit threshold, a clean recent rental record – and decline applicants who do not meet them.
The key constraint is consistency. Every standard you apply must be written down and applied the same way to every applicant, because an inconsistent process is where fair housing liability begins. A useful companion is our guide to the minimum credit score for renting, which explains how to set a threshold that screens for risk without quietly screening out a protected class.
Application Fees Under 25 Del. C. 5514
Delaware is one of the states that caps the application fee by statute. The law lets a landlord charge an application fee to determine creditworthiness, but that statutory fee may not exceed the greater of ten percent of one month’s rent or a fifty-dollar floor. On a typical apartment, ten percent of the monthly rent will be the controlling number; on a very low rent, the fifty-dollar figure applies instead.
Two procedural duties travel with the fee. First, you must hand the applicant a receipt for the full amount paid. Second, you must keep complete records of every application fee charged and collected for at least two years. The penalty for ignoring the cap is unusually direct: a landlord who unlawfully demands more than the allowable amount owes the tenant double the amount charged. That double-damages remedy is why a sloppy fee policy is a genuine financial risk, not a technicality.
Watch the overcharge trap
Charging a flat “application fee” above the statutory cap, or bundling extra charges into it, can trigger the double-damages remedy in 25 Del. C. 5514. Keep the fee at or under the cap and document what it covers.
Security Deposits and What You Can Collect
The same statute that caps the application fee also limits the security deposit. For a rental agreement of one year or more, a Delaware landlord may not require a deposit greater than one month’s rent. For a month-to-month tenancy the cap attaches once the tenancy has lasted a year, at which point any excess must be returned. After the tenancy ends, you have twenty days to return the deposit together with an itemized statement of any lawful deductions.
Because the deposit and the fee are governed together, treat them as one compliance unit when you draft a lease. Our deeper look at Delaware security deposit laws covers permitted deductions, the itemization requirement, and what happens if you miss the deadline.
Source of Income Is a Protected Class in Delaware
This is where Delaware diverges sharply from the federal floor. The Delaware Fair Housing Act, codified at Title 6, Chapter 46, lists source of income among its protected classes, and the statutory definition expressly includes government and private assistance, grants, and programs. In practice that means you generally cannot reject an applicant, or refuse to consider them, solely because their rent would be paid in whole or part with a Housing Choice Voucher or other lawful assistance.
That does not force you to lower your standards. You may still apply the same income, credit, and rental-history tests to a voucher holder that you apply to everyone else – the protected trait is the income source, not the screening criteria. For the full list of protected classes and how they interact with federal law, see our Fair Housing Act guide for landlords.
Criminal History, Credit, and Eviction Records
A criminal record can be a lawful basis to decline an applicant in Delaware, but a blanket “no record, ever” rule is the single most common way landlords stumble into a fair housing problem. HUD’s 2016 guidance treats criminal-records policies under a disparate-impact lens: because conviction data falls unevenly across racial groups, a flat ban can violate the Fair Housing Act even without any intent to discriminate. The defensible approach is an individualized assessment that weighs the nature of the offense, how long ago it occurred, and whether it bears on the safety of residents or property.
Credit history and prior evictions are cleaner to use, provided your standard is objective and consistently applied. An eviction judgment in the record is a legitimate signal, and you can read more about how those filings surface in screening on our Delaware eviction notice laws page. The rule of thumb across all three categories: decide your criteria in advance, write them down, and never improvise them applicant by applicant.
The FCRA: Consent and Adverse Action
Whenever you pull a screening report through a consumer reporting agency, the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act governs the transaction. You need a permissible purpose and the applicant’s written authorization before the report is ordered. If the report then leads to an adverse decision – a denial, a higher deposit, or a co-signer demand – you must deliver an adverse action notice.
That notice has to name the reporting agency, state that the agency did not make the decision, and tell the applicant they can get a free copy of the report and dispute anything inaccurate within the statutory window. Skipping it is one of the most frequently litigated landlord errors nationwide. Our FCRA compliance guide and the companion walkthrough of the adverse action notice lay out exactly what the notice must say.
Fair Housing Compliance for Delaware Landlords
Layered on top of the state act, the federal Fair Housing Act protects race, color, national origin, religion, sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity), familial status, and disability. Delaware adds protections including source of income, marital status, age, and creed. The screening lesson is the same at both levels: uniform criteria, uniform application, and documentation that shows you treated every applicant by the same yardstick.
Do
- ✓Publish written screening criteria before you advertise.
- ✓Get written consent and keep the signed authorization.
- ✓Send an adverse action notice on every report-based denial.
- ✓Assess criminal history case by case.
Avoid
- ✕Charging an application fee above the statutory cap.
- ✕Rejecting an applicant for using a housing voucher.
- ✕Blanket bans on any criminal record.
- ✕Bending your standards applicant by applicant.
A Compliant Delaware Screening Process
Put the rules together into one repeatable sequence. First, publish objective criteria – income ratio, credit threshold, rental history, and your individualized criminal-record policy. Second, collect a written application and the lawful fee, issue a receipt, and log it for your two-year record. Third, obtain written consent and order the report through a reputable agency. Fourth, evaluate every applicant against the identical standard. Fifth, if you decline based on a report, send the adverse action notice promptly.
Income verification is the step landlords most often shortcut, and it is the easiest to do defensibly; our guide to verifying tenant income shows how to confirm ability to pay without singling anyone out. Run the same five steps for every applicant and your file will tell a clean, consistent story if it is ever questioned.
Common Mistakes That Create Liability
The recurring Delaware errors cluster around the fee cap, the voucher rule, and adverse action. Overcharging the application fee invites the double-damages penalty. Quietly steering away voucher holders violates the state act’s source-of-income protection. And denying an applicant on the strength of a report without sending the FCRA notice is an avoidable, well-litigated misstep. Each one is easy to prevent with a written process and a paper trail.
One standard, every applicant. Nearly every screening claim – state or federal – traces back to a landlord who applied criteria unevenly. A single written rubric, used the same way each time, is your strongest defense.
Delaware Tenant Screening Laws: FAQ
Can a Delaware landlord run a background check on an applicant?
Yes. With the applicant’s written authorization you may obtain a consumer report covering credit, rental history, income, and criminal convictions. The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act requires a permissible purpose and consent before any screening report is pulled.
How much can a Delaware landlord charge for an application fee?
Under 25 Del. C. 5514 the fee cannot exceed the greater of ten percent of one month’s rent or a statutory fifty-dollar ceiling. You must give a receipt and keep records for two years, and a tenant who is overcharged is entitled to double the amount charged.
What is the maximum security deposit in Delaware?
For a lease of one year or more the deposit may not exceed one month’s rent, and it must be returned within twenty days of the end of the tenancy with an itemized list of any deductions.
Is source of income a protected class in Delaware?
Yes. The Delaware Fair Housing Act, 6 Del. C. Chapter 46, lists source of income as protected, and the definition includes housing vouchers and other assistance, so you generally cannot reject an applicant solely for paying rent with a voucher.
Can a Delaware landlord deny an applicant for a criminal record?
A conviction can be a lawful reason to decline, but blanket bans are risky. HUD’s 2016 guidance warns that a flat no-record policy can create a disparate-impact violation, so use an individualized assessment tied to the offense, how recent it is, and safety.
Does a Delaware landlord have to send an adverse action notice?
Yes. If a denial, a higher deposit, or a co-signer requirement rests in any part on a consumer report, the FCRA requires an adverse action notice naming the reporting agency and explaining the right to a free report and to dispute it.
Can a landlord deny for a low credit score or a past eviction?
Yes. Credit history and prior evictions are legitimate criteria, provided the standard is written, applied consistently to every applicant, and not used as a proxy for a protected class.
How long must a Delaware landlord keep application fee records?
At least two years. 25 Del. C. 5514 requires complete records of all application fees charged and amounts received, plus a receipt to the applicant for the full amount paid.
Related Delaware and Screening Guides
- Tenant screening laws by state – compare Delaware to the rest of the country.
- Delaware security deposit laws – deductions, itemization, and the 20-day rule.
- Delaware eviction notice laws – notice periods and the eviction timeline.
- Delaware rent increase laws – notice rules for raising the rent.
- Delaware late fee laws – what you can charge for late rent.
- How a tenant background check works – what a report includes.
- Delaware habitability laws – your maintenance obligations as a landlord.
Screen Delaware Applicants the Compliant Way
Order FCRA-ready credit, criminal, and eviction reports and keep your Delaware process consistent from application to decision.
Published by Tenant Screening Background Check · Editorial Team
Established 2004. Our editorial team has spent two decades helping landlords and property managers run lawful, FCRA-compliant tenant screening across all 50 states. We translate state landlord-tenant codes and federal screening rules into processes you can actually follow.
Legal Disclaimer
This article is for general informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Delaware and federal laws change, and how they apply depends on your specific facts. Before acting on any screening, fee, deposit, or fair housing question, consult a licensed attorney in Delaware. Reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship.
