Landlords, how do you screen for hoarders? (lease, tenant, renter)

[Zenstyle]

I've never been a landlord, though I've had a few (good) ones. Something I've wondered:
when screening for potential tenants, how do you screen out a hoarder?
Conversations with the person's former landlord/s? Offering to give them a lift home, then finagling a way to see inside their current residence?

It would horrify me to learn that a tenant was a hoarder. Then I learn that hoarding is a mental illness protected under the Fair Housing Act! Yikes!

Seems the only way to proceed (to me) would be as quiet as possible about a vacancy, then work friends/family about clean, reasonable, potential candidates; avoiding advertising at all costs. That's what I would do.

What would you do?

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Home inspection. Lots of landlords are starting to do them.

Landlord references. I've had landlords warn me.

Sometimes, I don't go any further than the drive-by. If the yard looks junky and there is trash, we are done.

[adjusterjack]

I made it part of my lease that I picked up the rent every month. I was invited in while they wrote the check and I wrote out a receipt. I never called it an inspection but it gave me an opportunity to check out the kitchen, living room, dining area. If anything was amiss I could address it on the spot.


People who have lots of things and are a bit cluttered aren't necessarily hoarders.


I have friends who are hoarders in the purest sense of the word and their house and grounds are a disaster area.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

I don't think there is any reasonable way to know if a tenant is a hoarder.

Most landlords wont' give a bad reference. They're not going to take a chance on being sued for libel/slander.

And, other than that, how would you ever know?

Landlords can always deal with this, though, going forward, if they do an inspection every 6 months, which is reasonable.

You can always say that cardboard boxes, for instance, attract cockroaches, so an unreasonable number of cardboard boxes must be gotten rid of, etc.

Worst case scenariio, is you just don't renew their lease.

But, anything you want to penalize them for, for instance, must be based in law - are they blocking exits, etc.

[Mr_Geek]

All of the above plus...look at their car if possible when they arrive to tour the home. If their car is filthy and cluttered then this is most likely how they will be in their home.

[LLinVA]

Look in their car when you show them the rental. Trashy people tend to have trashy cars. If someone shows up in an old, busted up sedan with a pile of junk in the back seat, they aren't getting approved (and you will almost certainly find an income or credit issue that genuinely disqualifies them).

Inspections. Once someone is in, go in at least every few months and check on your property. Whatever notice you have to give them by law won't give them enough time to clean a place up. You will also find all sorts of other problems by actually going into the property (damage, unauthorized residents, pets, candles, etc.).

Landlords may tell you, but they may not just so that you will take this person off their hands.

In the few years I've been doing this for about 30 or so residential units, I can think of maybe 3 or 4 problem tenants. Not making exceptions to the income and credit requirements would have been the best way to avoid these tenants (I know it doesn't seem like it should, but income and especially credit can say A LOT more about someone than just their finances).

[VTsnowbird]

Originally Posted by Mr_Geek

All of the above plus...look at their car if possible when they arrive to tour the home. If their car is filthy and cluttered then this is most likely how they will be in their home.

I used to do this when we had a house to rent out.

[Dark Unicorn]

Umm.. looking at my car wont work for me. I buy and resell on ebay, flea markets and auctions. The Jeep is always cluttered looking. My camper.... not so much, every thing is stacked and fairly neat but cluttered looking due to space limitations.

So fitting everyone into the same mold may cost you a really good renter. I know several neat people that re often having money issues.

[LifeIsGood01]

Originally Posted by Zenstyle

I've never been a landlord, though I've had a few (good) ones. Something I've wondered:
when screening for potential tenants, how do you screen out a hoarder?
Conversations with the person's former landlord/s? Offering to give them a lift home, then finagling a way to see inside their current residence?

It would horrify me to learn that a tenant was a hoarder. Then I learn that hoarding is a mental illness protected under the Fair Housing Act! Yikes!

Seems the only way to proceed (to me) would be as quiet as possible about a vacancy, then work friends/family about clean, reasonable, potential candidates; avoiding advertising at all costs. That's what I would do.

What would you do?

You can follow them to their car, if they are a true hoarder their car will be a mess and filled with junk.

Also to keep things in check you can do get a monthly extermination service.

Hoarding is not protected when it is a fire or safety hazard.

[Mr_Geek]

Originally Posted by Dark Unicorn

Umm.. looking at my car wont work for me. I buy and resell on ebay, flea markets and auctions. The Jeep is always cluttered looking. My camper.... not so much, every thing is stacked and fairly neat but cluttered looking due to space limitations.

So fitting everyone into the same mold may cost you a really good renter. I know several neat people that re often having money issues.

You are the exception then, not the norm. I'm ok with missing out on a possible good person to avoid the many bad people to whom my scenario would apply. I can also tell the difference between someone who just has lots of things in their vs someone who is a slob.