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Interesting topic I thought to bring up since we have several Landlords in this forum as well as tons of tenants in the forum to.
What are your thoughts about a tenant blacklist?
A tenant blacklist (for those who don't know) is information shared by and between Landlords which basically informs and warns Landlords if a prospective tenant is considered undesirable due to: late rent payments, didn't pay rent at all, destroyed the apartment, altered or modified the apartment, having illegal pets, having undesirable occupants living with the lease holder, has been taken to court for non-payment, had holdovers, played excessive loud music, used or sold drugs, broke or didn't obey building rules and regulations, etc.....
Pretty much anything that would tip off the Landlord that a prospective tenant might turn out to be undesirable or a difficult tenant to deal with.
If you get on this tenant blacklist, chances are no Landlord would rent to you because of your rental and behaviorial history as a Tenant.
Last edited by victorfox; 12-05-2009 at 10:05 PM..
Interesting topic I thought to bring up since we have several Landlords in this forum as well as tons of tenants in the forum to.
What are your thoughts about a tenant blacklist?
A tenant blacklist (for those who don't know) is information shared by and between Landlords which basically informs and warns Landlords if a prospective tenant is considered undesirable due to: late rent payments, didn't pay rent at all, destroyed the apartment, altered or modified the apartment, having illegal pets, having undesirable occupants living with the lease holder, has been taken to court for non-payment, had holdovers, played excessive loud music, used or sold drugs, broke or didn't obey building rules and regulations, etc.....
Pretty much anything that would tip off the Landlord that a prospective tenant might turn out to be undesirable or a difficult tenant to deal with.
If you get on this tenant blacklist, chances are no Landlord would rent to you because of your rental and behaviorial history as a Tenant.
what the difference between this and obtaining housing court records on somebody? which is very easy to do.
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what the difference between this and obtaining housing court records on somebody? which is very easy to do.
From my understanding, some of the information available to Lanldords from the blacklist goes beyond the housing court records. Housing court records can't tell you the full story if a tenant is undesirable other than not paying their rent. It goes more into depth based on the previous landlord's observation and experience with the tenant.
I guess it also screens for their character which housing court records don't. You can have a tenant that pays on time but at the same time complains about every little thing and is difficult to deal with. It creates headaches and grief for the landlord which he can do without regardless of the tenant paying his rent on time.
From my understanding, some of the information available to Lanldords from the blacklist goes beyond the housing court records. Housing court records can't tell you the full story if a tenant is undesirable other than not paying their rent. It goes more into depth based on the previous landlord's observation and experience with the tenant.
I guess it also screens for their character which housing court records don't. You can have a tenant that pays on time but at the same time complains about every little thing and is difficult to deal with. It creates headaches and grief for the landlord which he can do without regardless of the tenant paying his rent on time.
That goes beyond facts, however (character is all relative!). And I believe there would be legal recourse for those who are libeled in that kind of document. Bad idea.
Sounds like a lawsuit waiting to happen. If you create a list like this, you WILL be sued for slander.... and you WILL lose. How are you going to say that someone is a drug dealer unless there is a court conviction? how are you going to say someone is "undesirable" as a tenant unless you have concrete proof of this?
Why not create a "blacklist" of landlords?? You know, the slumlords who don't fix things but are there salivating with their hand out on rent day. Or, better yet, the ones who patch things and claims it's "fixed"
If a LL wants to do due diligence before renting an apartment, he/she can simply check public records (housing court, criminal court, etc). The "blacklist" you're proposing is absurd.
Actually, there is a "list" - it's called asking for references from previous landlords. A good tenant will have no problem getting one; a troublesome tenant will not.
Actually, there is a "list" - it's called asking for references from previous landlords. A good tenant will have no problem getting one; a troublesome tenant will not.
That goes beyond facts, however (character is all relative!). And I believe there would be legal recourse for those who are libeled in that kind of document. Bad idea.
I agree. The same thing can be said of employers who blacklist an ex-employee in the same way.
The landlord can be sued for such things, because you don't know the true background behind every story or if someone has changed or not.
Interesting topic I thought to bring up since we have several Landlords in this forum as well as tons of tenants in the forum to.
What are your thoughts about a tenant blacklist?
A tenant blacklist (for those who don't know) is information shared by and between Landlords which basically informs and warns Landlords if a prospective tenant is considered undesirable due to: late rent payments, didn't pay rent at all, destroyed the apartment, altered or modified the apartment, having illegal pets, having undesirable occupants living with the lease holder, has been taken to court for non-payment, had holdovers, played excessive loud music, used or sold drugs, broke or didn't obey building rules and regulations, etc.....
Pretty much anything that would tip off the Landlord that a prospective tenant might turn out to be undesirable or a difficult tenant to deal with.
If you get on this tenant blacklist, chances are no Landlord would rent to you because of your rental and behaviorial history as a Tenant.
Doesn't bother me at all. I'm all for the free exchange of information. Now as a a landlord you have to be careful about the information you supply. Pretty easy to show somebody didn't pay their rent on time, numerous complaints, etc. Unless the Landlord say something that they knew was false they have not committed libel (or slander I guess if this list is word of mouth or something).
However, there could be actually specific laws against this for all I know.
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