Is Rental Beast legally able to charge an application fee in Massachusetts?

Massachusetts law (G.L. c 186, § 15B(b)) prohibits landlords or third parties that manage property on a landlords' behalf from charging an application fee. However, the law does not prohibit other persons or entities, such as Rental Beast, real estate brokers, and salespersons, from charging an application fee to prospective tenants. The reasonable application fee charged by Rental Beast is applied towards the costs of obtaining a background check for the prospective tenant and is not shared with landlords or property managers. Therefore, Rental Beast's application fee does not violate Massachusetts law.