Screening tenants may seem like a simple process that merely involves asking potential tenants some questions and reviewing their financial documents. However, how to properly conduct it could be very complicated.
As a landlord, you need to be careful in screening applicants because finding tenants with excellent conduct and responsible attitude will greatly contribute to your business’ success.
On the other hand, if you screen applicants without learning the best approach and the laws related to it can lead to complaints and lawsuits that would negatively affect your landlord career and your business.
To not get caught in any legal dilemma during the screening process, the key is pretty simple, in theory: DO NOT DISCRIMINATE. However, putting that into practice is where landlords or property managers often fall short.
Here are a few dos and don’ts that you should put in mind as you conduct your screening process.
DOS:
Apply the same screening procedures among ALL applicants
Whatever you require for one client, you should require to others as well. You can’t ask one client for income documents, and not the others. Also have clear criteria when evaluating and choosing tenants because it helps you make consistent decisions without getting influenced by unexpected bias.
It’s good to adopt a scoring system that would include factors such as credit standing, income, and rental history. Don’t include factors such as race, gender, or any discriminating factors.
Keep in file documents of the applicants you screened from the last decade
A paper trail could come in handy to serve as reference and evidence in case a denied applicant or past tenants would accuse you of rejecting them due to your discrimination. Documents of screening reports as well as other important documents can prove that there were more qualified applicants than them which you based on non-discriminatory criteria.
Inform rejected applicants properly if and why their application was denied.
A declination letter, also known as an adverse action letter, must be sent to rejected applicants. The letter must contain the reason/s why their application was denied. This is why you must have clear criteria for choosing and you have sufficient documentation that would support your decision.
DON’TS:
Avoid getting too personal
Only ask questions that are related to their eligibility to rent such as income information and rental history. Do not ask about marriage, parenthood, health conditions, or other overly personal information that may be deemed as offensive or discriminatory.
Be sensitive enough to respect their personal boundaries and know which information is related to an application for tenancy.
Do not reject an applicant automatically just because of a criminal record
Felons or those with arrest records who are no longer prisoners of the law have a right to start anew. Although a history of criminal activity doesn’t look good in an application, the landlord must still evaluate it on a case-to-case basis. The same practice must be applied for individuals with a history of eviction.
When you post your listing on Padleads and syndicate it to popular rental websites, you can expect a lot of rental applicants would reach out to you. Make sure that you already observe the dos and don’ts of screening applicants even on your initial conversation.