Many cities in California require landlords to obtain business licenses, but in other states, a growing number of cities are licensing tenants. In these places, you have to get a license from the city before you can rent an apartment. In some cities, you have to show a prospective landlord your ‘tenant license’ before you can even fill out a rental application form. The stated purpose of these tenant licensing laws is housing safety; however, the real purpose of these laws is to catch illegal immigrants. This is not an issue here in California. No city in California licenses tenants.

In Pennsylvania: The city of Hazelton passed a law requiring applicants for apartments to obtain a permit from the city proving citizenship or legal residency before renting an apartment. A landlord who rents an apartment to a tenant without a city permit faces large fines.

In Texas: The city of Farmers Branch (a suburb of Dallas) passed a law requiring would-be tenants to first obtain a license from the city confirming their immigration status before applying for an apartment. Landlords who rent apartments to unlicensed tenants face harsh civil and criminal penalties. In Farmers Branch, a landlord can go to jail for renting an apartment to an unlicensed tenant.

In July, 2013; Federal courts in both Texas and Pennsylvania ruled that these tenant licensing laws are unconstitutional. The courts said that the true intent of these laws was to force landlords to act as immigration police under the guise of housing safety. The Appeals Courts ruled that the power to enforce immigration laws is reserved exclusively to the Federal government under the U.S. Constitution and that state and local governments cannot pass laws designed to supersede Federal law. In August, the city of Farmers Branch appealed the decision of the Appeals Court to the U.S. Supreme Court, which has not yet decided whether or not to hear this case. Personally, I think the idea of licensing tenants is absurd. It would certainly never fly in California.