As housing providers, landlords have several obligations to fulfill.
Your responsibilities to the law are especially crucial during tenant screening. This is because by skipping steps, you make yourself vulnerable to complaints or even lawsuits.
Your primary responsibility during screening is to maintain equality. Every prospective renter should have the same opportunity to rent your units. This means your checks should be equal and the same for every tenant.
You should also know the reasons you may legally deny an applicant in your state. Otherwise, you are not only tolerating restrictive policies, but you could land yourself in court.
Here are six landlord responsibilities to watch out for during tenant screening.
1. Screen all tenants the same way.
Your number one responsibility during tenant screening is equality. You must screen all your tenants the same way, using the same checks and criteria.
Most tenant screening policies include:
- Rental applications
- Proof of income
- Credit checks
- Background checks (criminal and eviction histories)
Following this checklist is a good start. However, many landlords also use social media to screen tenants—and that’s where things get tricky.
Not every tenant has a public social media profile, and it’s not a good idea to endlessly scroll or dig around on an applicant’s page just to see what you can find. Instead, if you decide to use social media, use the same platforms and checks for each applicant.
2. Adhere to fair housing laws.
The previous obligation is one of many dictated by the federal Fair Housing Act. This law, and other state fair housing laws, regulate rental activities including how landlords can screen tenants, write advertisements, show units, and perform other tasks.
The Fair Housing Act, established in 1968, lists seven protected classes in housing: race, color, national origin, sex, religion, disability, and familial status. According to this law, landlords are prohibited from asking questions about these classes on rental applications or discriminating in any way based on them.
State fair housing laws often expand renters’ protections. For instance, many states add protections for age, ancestry, source of income, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital or military status, and pregnancy.
Review both the federal and state fair housing laws to ensure your rental policies and practices are in line.
3. Ask for permission to run a credit check.
Landlords are also obligated to ask for permission to run a credit check.
This is usually done in the rental agreement. First, make the prospective renter aware that applying to rent your properties includes a credit check, and that they will not be able to rent your units without one.
Then, you must make a written request to do so. Include a clause either in your lease or a separate document stating that by signing, the tenant consents to the credit check. The prospective tenant then must give their consent in writing (i.e., provide a signature) before you can pull their credit report.
4. Dispose of sensitive information after viewing it.
During tenant screening, you might handle some sensitive information. This information includes credit scores and accounts, criminal information, Social Security numbers, or other confidential information.
Prospective tenants trust you to safekeep this information. This means disposing of reports properly after you are done viewing them.
For instance, after you run a credit check and have either accepted or denied the applicant, delete their credit file from your computer. Do not send the files to anyone or allow others access to them.
Do your part to prevent identity fraud and make sure your tenants’ information doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.
5. Make sure it’s legal to run a criminal background check.
Lastly, make sure criminal background checks are an acceptable component of tenant screening in your state.
In the coming year, many states are looking at restricting landlords’ use of criminal records to make housing decisions. For example, a bill in California (Assembly Bill 2383) would make it discriminatory to ask about criminal history or require that a prospective tenant disclose their criminal record on rental applications.
In other states, criminal background checks are legal, but landlords may only consider criminal convictions in their decisions—prior arrests or pardoned charges may not be used.
Know the rules in your state before running criminal background checks on your applicants.
Conclusion
Understanding landlord-tenant laws can be a complex undertaking. Most laws about tenant screening boil down to treating your applicants fairly and respectfully. A landlord who follows these guidelines is sure to develop strong relationships with their tenants from the start.
