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No there does not seem to be such mandate on the federal level but local municipalities can have stricter laws than the Fed. The OP will have to research.
However, do you really want to live in a house where the Landlord doesn't like you? Is it worth all of the problems to live there for only 1 lease term? Because I bet, if you did force him to sign a lease with you he would not renew it come time and you will have to move anyway.
Originally Posted by Carolina65 Hm, interesting, I thought the Fair Housing Laws say you can only review one application at a time...
C
Quote:
Originally Posted by old_cold
Can you provide a cite to this...can anyone?
I have read that is the recommended procedure for avoiding Fair Housing problems in tenant selection.
1. Have established written criteria for selection of tenants.
2. Review applications in the order received.
3. Approve the first one that meets your criteria.
I don't think there is any legal requirement for number 3 but it helps avoid disputes.
This particular LL may not even fall under the guidelines of the FHA if he only has one rental property. States vary a little in their mandates but I really don't think this is an issue worth losing sleep over. No lease was signed and I assume no money exchanged hands (if there was an application fee you'd certainly be entitled to have that returned given the circumstances). Move on to the next available property.
Basic Facts About the Fair Housing Act[/SIZE] [SIZE=+0]What Housing Is Covered?[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+0]The Fair Housing Act covers most housing. In some circumstances, the Act exempts owner-occupied buildings with no more than four units, single-family housing sold or rented without the use of a broker, and housing operated by organizations and private clubs that limit occupancy to members.[/SIZE]
Weird and frustrating if you'd stopped looking because you thought you'd be signing a lease for that place, but not worth fighting or losing sleep over, I'd say.
No, there's no such thing. You need to treat everyone the same. What is advised to keep landlords out of hot water, is to approve the first applicant that qualifies. So, it can't look like you gathered a bunch of applicants, then looked through them, and chucked out all the Indians, families with kids, people on welfare, etc.
That way you can't get in trouble. You go through each applicant in chronological order (even if you have an open house and people keep handing you applications). You put them in order received. Then go through your normal screening process, which you do exactly the same for everyone.
Anyway, I'm assuming that's where that idea came from.
Here are some articles that go over advising landlords to take first qualified applicant:
This last article had a good idea, to date stamp each application as it comes in. It would be great if you could time stamp them, too, and have the applicant initial it, if you were concerned about any fair housing issues, and especially if you had an open house, etc.
When I had available apts in Santa Clara, CA, I had a huge number of applicants. I only showed by appointment, though, and I kept track of my appointments, so you could always use your appointment calendar to show when your appointment was. Although, sometimes they leave then come back later to fill out the application, and in the meantime, I've accepted more applications. So a time stamp would be best, IMO.
I'm happily retired, but if I was to do it again, that's what I'd do. Mark the date AND time on the application and have them initial it.
I agree that it is certainly better to move on and to avoid renting from someone that you already think is 'weird' or 'strange'
Choose your battles, you might win the battle but at what cost? Would it be worth it to be doing business when there would be tension and possible animosity towards each other??
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