Property Manager – Granada Hills
How Do I Screen a Potential Tenant?
If you will be renting housing, it is important that you screen your potential tenants so that you get people who will be able to pay the rent on time and aren’t likely to cause problems for you or other tenants or your property. However, it is also important that you make your decisions on whether to rent in an objective, lawful manner. Thus, you need to have a good screening process that you will use consistently.
1
Create a written rental application that lays out all the details of what information you will be asking from tenants. This is objective and provides a paper record in the event of a lawsuit.
2
Use the same application for all applicants. Doing otherwise may show favoritism.
3
Collect the applicant’s current and previous residence information, and verify with those landlords the applicant’s standing on behavior and timeliness on rental payments.
4
Collect the applicant’s current and previous employment information, and verify with those employers the applicant’s employment status and history.
5
Collect character references, including those of non-family members. Give these individuals a chance to describe why you should rent to the applicant.
6
Obtain a credit report on the applicant and evaluate his likelihood of paying the rent consistently and on time. You will need the applicant’s Social Security Number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number. According to the legal website Nolo, if you reject an application because of information you found in this credit report, you must inform the applicant of this and provide the name of the agency that reported the information. You must also inform the applicant of the fact that they are entitled to a free credit report from that agency within 60 days of your action.
7
Verify the applicant’s driver’s license (or state ID) and bank account information.
8
Check the applicant’s criminal background. This is mostly public information, and you can check it all yourself from the various sources, such as county and state courthouses and sexual offender databases, but many landlords simply hire a company to do this work for them and provide a report.
Warning
Avoid any discrimination against the application on the grounds of sex, race, ethnicity, marital status, sexual orientation, age (except in the case of senior housing), religion and, unless it would make the applicant’s tenancy impossible or dangerous, disability
From: http://homeguides.sfgate.com
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