RENTER PROCESS
How the Fortified application, screening, and lease process works end-to-end — and what owners ask us to verify before approving a tenant.
Plain-English disclosures, fees, and tenant rights for every Fortified Realty Group rental in Fall River and the South Coast. We update this page once and every listing inherits the change. If anything on this page contradicts a specific listing or your lease, the lease controls — but we work hard to keep this page in sync with how we actually operate.
These are the primary state-published documents that govern how we operate. We link directly so you can read them yourself — no paraphrasing, no spin.
Fall River rentals move fast. An apartment advertised on this site or any syndicated platform may no longer be available by the time you see the listing. Listings are updated as quickly as possible, but applications, showings, and approvals happen daily — sometimes within hours of a unit going live.
Before you tour or apply, please confirm current availability with us by phone or text at 508-671-7228, or by clicking the apply link on the listing — our scheduling system shows real-time availability and will let you know if the unit is still open.
We do not hold units off-market while applications are being reviewed. The first qualified, complete application that meets the owner's screening criteria is typically approved.
Fortified Realty Group does not charge applicants an application fee, tenant screening fee, credit report fee, or background check fee. There is no cost to submit an application for any Fortified rental. We absorb the screening cost as a cost of doing business.
Massachusetts law prohibits up-front application fees, broker fees (when the broker is hired by the landlord), and pet fees. We follow that law and we believe charging applicants to apply was bad practice anyway — so we stopped.
If your application advances in our review process, you authorize Fortified Realty Group, the property owner, and their agents to obtain tenant screening and consumer reports for housing purposes. These reports may include:
If anything in a screening report is unclear, incomplete, or appears inaccurate, you'll be given an opportunity to provide an explanation or supporting documentation before a final decision is made. Real life is messy and we'd rather hear your context than let a single line on a report make the decision.
If a credit or screening report contributes to a decision to deny your application, require a cosigner, or rent at a higher rate than advertised, we'll send you a written adverse action notice that includes the screening company's name and contact info, your right to a free copy of the report within 60 days, your right to dispute the report, and a copy of the FTC's Summary of Your Rights Under the FCRA.
Massachusetts law caps move-in money to four specific items. We don't collect anything beyond these four items at lease signing.
That's it. We do not collect application fees, holding fees, broker fees, pet fees, pet deposits, "move-in fees," "admin fees," or any other up-front charges at lease signing. Each individual listing shows the exact dollar amounts for that unit.
Reference: M.G.L. c.186 §15B; MA AG Guide p.14.
The monthly rent shown on every Fortified listing is the full all-in monthly cost. We do not advertise a low number and add fees on top.
What you see on the listing is what you pay each month. There is no separate monthly package, filter fee, or add-on stacked on the advertised rent.
Renters insurance is required for every Fortified tenant. You bring your own policy. It is not included in the rent, and we do not sell it.
The landlord's policy covers the building. It does not cover much for you. Your furniture, electronics, clothes, and everything else in the unit are yours to insure. A fire, a burst pipe, theft, or smoke from a neighbor's apartment can wipe those out, and the building policy will not replace them. If your dog bites a guest, your tub overflows into the unit below, or someone gets hurt in your apartment, that claim can land on you.
Most people buy it from the same company that handles their auto insurance. Bundling the two usually gets a multi-policy discount, and a policy can often be bound the same day — sometimes in under an hour. We can't quote you a price. It depends on your limits, deductible, and where you live.
Bring the policy to lease signing.
Where Fortified Realty Group is engaged by the property owner as the listing or leasing broker, the tenant pays no broker fee. Under Massachusetts law (effective August 1, 2025), a broker retained by the landlord may not charge the tenant a broker fee.
If a unit is being marketed under a different arrangement — for example, a tenant-engaged broker — that will be disclosed clearly on the listing before any cost is owed.
Reference: MA AG Guide p.8.
Most of the buildings we manage in Fall River were built before 1978. Massachusetts law requires landlords to provide a Tenant Lead Law Notification and Tenant Certification form to prospective tenants of any unit built before 1978.
If a child under six will occupy the unit, the landlord is required to delead the unit or maintain interim lead control. A Massachusetts landlord may not refuse to rent to a family with children under six because of the presence of lead paint. Doing so is unlawful discrimination.
The required Lead Law Notification packet will be provided to you at lease signing along with any applicable Letter of Compliance, Letter of Interim Control, or inspection report on file. Where a unit's lead paint status is shown as "unknown" on the listing, we will provide all available documentation at lease signing and will not refuse to rent to families with young children. If you have questions before lease signing, ask us — we'll get you the docs.
You can read the official notification form here: MA Tenant Lead Law Notification Form (PDF).
Reference: MA AG Guide p.16 (PDF).
Fortified Realty Group does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, familial status (including children), national origin, ancestry, age, disability, military or veteran status, genetic information, or source of income — including Section 8 / Housing Choice Vouchers, MRVP, RAFT, and other rental assistance programs.
Applicants using rental subsidies are evaluated on the same standards as all other applicants. Rent-to-income ratios are applied only to the portion of rent the tenant is responsible for, not the subsidy portion.
If you believe you've been treated unfairly by us — or by anyone — you can file a complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) or HUD. We'll never retaliate against an applicant or tenant for filing a fair housing complaint.
Reference: M.G.L. c.151B; MA AG Guide p.10, p.21.
Massachusetts allows certain eviction records to be sealed by court order. If you have a sealed eviction record under section 16 of chapter 239 of the General Laws, you may answer "no record" on our application when asked about prior evictions. We will not penalize you for a sealed record and we don't expect you to disclose it.
This page is meant to be useful and plain-English. If anything is unclear, or if you want us to walk you through how an application works before you submit, we'd rather have that conversation than have you guess.
Direct line to a human inside Fortified — no call center, no chatbot.
