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Say you put your unit up for rent and you get multiple suitable applicants (ie. everything checks out, they are all perfect tenents etc etc.)
How do you choose which applicant gets the unit? Knowing full well the laws which doesn't allow a landlord to discriminate between applicants based on multiple criteria (race, sex, marital status etc), how do you ensure you make a fair choice and what would you tell the remaining applicants why they were rejected to make sure you don't get sued.
Just trying not to get wrongfully sued here ....
Last edited by Ultrarunner; 09-14-2016 at 07:49 AM..
Reason: City Data cannot provide legal advice
Keep them in order by application recd time/date would be safe. Tell 2 that 1 got in first and was approved. Or take one applicant at a time.
Edit: I'm not a landlord but I did sleep in a holiday inn express last night...
Yes this would work, but how the heck would I prove to 2 that 1 was first?
Maybe I'm taking it to the extreme where the other applicants would want hard proof that they were not first. I figure having a date and time on an application may not be enough proof as you can write a date and time after the fact.
Quote:
Originally Posted by texdav
Require past references;do cradit check and criminal.that is what I see around here. Perfectly legal .
Texdev, my scenario starts after all the reference/background/credit checks have been done and all have been found to be satisfactory.
Yes this would work, but how the heck would I prove to 2 that 1 was first?
Maybe I'm taking it to the extreme where the other applicants would want hard proof that they were not first. I figure having a date and time on an application may not be enough proof as you can write a date and time after the fact.
Texdev, my scenario starts after all the reference/background/credit checks have been done and all have been found to be satisfactory.
Unless they are related and/or know each other personally I doubt you have to tell anyone anything. Just tell them the unit has been rented and you will keep their apps on file for future reference.
Koale.
If you have met them personally I think it is ok to go with whichever one you got the best "vibe" from. This is how I chose our tenant. After all you will be dealing with this person for a year+ right? And the order of application defense sounds great.
Well, the reason I pose this question is because in the state I have property, I am legally obigated to provide a written reason why an application was rejected if the applicant asks me.
I cannot write "because I had a good vibe with someone else" on this letter. Hence the reason why I need to choose correctly so as to not discriminate.
I only make appointments to show a property after someone clearly understands my selection criteria... the rent cannot be greater than 30% net income, the tenant must have 2 years of continued employment or will pay 12 months in advance if unemployed, no smoking, no past record of evictions, and they understand I will check references and criminal records. If they still want to see the place I make an appointment. If they say they want the place after seeing it, I tell them I will email them an application they are to complete and return by email. I always email the application to my favorite potential tenant first and I record receipt per Fair Housing guidelines; the return email is my proof of date and time received.
If all check out, go with the "first in time" rule. We're both in CA - you can find it online.
My property is out of state, not in CA.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Squirl
I only make appointments to show a property after someone clearly understands my selection criteria... the rent cannot be greater than 30% net income, the tenant must have 2 years of continued employment or will pay 12 months in advance if unemployed, no smoking, no past record of evictions, and they understand I will check references and criminal records. If they still want to see the place I make an appointment. If they say they want the place after seeing it, I tell them I will email them an application they are to complete and return by email. I always email the application to my favorite potential tenant first and I record receipt per Fair Housing guidelines; the return email is my proof of date and time received.
This is a great suggestion. I'll try to do it this way. Only thing is that the property is out of state, so when I am looking for a tenant, I tend to want to do an open house where applicants will usually fill out the forms and get it back to me the same day so I don't waste time. However, telling them to mail back the application to me may be an option or get them to write the time on their checks when they apply (processing fee).
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