Gilbert Carrillo of San Antonio has tattooed arms with the tattoos covering about the same area that the sleeves of a long-sleeved shirt would.

Carrillo and his wife, Melissa, told the San Antonio Express-News they would never have bothered applying to the Villas at Medical Center -- and paying a $70 application fee -- if they had known the tattoos were a deal breaker. Rejecting a potential tenant for tattoos is not illegal because getting the tattoos is an issue of personal choice.

Managers at the complex agreed to refund the fee when a local television station did a story on the Carrillos. In the meantime, the couple has decided to stay in the complex where they live now because a larger apartment is now available.

"It wasn't the money. It's the principle," Melissa Carrillo said.