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I'm moving to FL to attend law school and have been searching for a roommate and an apt. Well the school's agent service finds me one and we find the beautiful condo. While I live in TX, the roommate has already checked out everything face to face and is pleased so we discuss things with the landlord. Well before I submit my app, I let the landlord know that I have a prior eviction from signing for an apartment for someone else however the balance has been paid. She agrees to still have me proceed with the app which I do and I provide documentation stating when it was paid. She then requires more documentation concerning my finances for the academic year and after all that she still requests personal and professional references and a cosigner, which I provide. After all this she sends an email stating she has approved my application.
She calls back hours later to ask for my new license b/c the one I sent her was expired but has recently been renewed but I still don't have the official one just the temporary. I called TXDPS to find out what's going on and when I cleared my license of old dismissal fees the system did not clear it so I have to get it reproduced. I tell her this but still send my temporary.
Then I get an email at 9 saying she had decided to decline my application "due to too many things coming up after the application." The rub of the whole situation is that she will still rent one of the rooms to the other applicant at the same half rent we were splitting...
So what are my rights if any at all b/c other than the fact that I just basically handed her my life in a nutshell I'd have to start from scratch all over again???
Having bad luck / poor rental history does not put you into a protected class. Landlords are free to say exactly what this one did, basically your past has too many red flags...
Now if you were right there in front of here and yup saw that she did not like your race or obvious religious expression or your hqd kids and wanted them to stat with you you could make an effort to force here to rent to you or face a Federal Fair Housing investigation ( or worse) but those things are not going to fly with just emqil exchange...
Funny thing too is I can see both her position and yours. To her your answers to the negatives seem like you are good at covering your mistakes. To you the situations you've gotten in don' seem like a big deal.
You are probably both "in the right" but that does get her a tenant she feels comfortable with or you a place to rent.
At least you have more ducks in a row now, and maybe can approach the next contact a little different. Start with the law school angle, and how you really want to make this process as smooth and honest as possible. Emphasize that you have sufficient resources, a cosigned, personal references. Show that you know having an eviction in your past might scare off some landlord but that was cleared , and you hqve the documenttion to fully support that...
I agree with the previous post. Landlords can discriminate against you unless it's sex, religion, race, etc. If they feel you're a risk for any reason that's not covered then denying you is their prerogative. Yes, you'll have to go through all this again. The best you can do is make sure you have everything in order that the previous landlord wanted, in case someone else is that fastidious.
So there is no issue with the fact that she approved my application with terms that I agreed to and completely fulfilled then reneged and declined and won't even give me a specific reason???
So there is no issue with the fact that she approved my application with terms that I agreed to and completely fulfilled then reneged and declined and won't even give me a specific reason???
You wrote:
Quote:
Then I get an email at 9 saying she had decided to decline my application "due to too many things coming up after the application." The rub of the whole situation is that she will still rent one of the rooms to the other applicant at the same half rent we were splitting...
She gave you a reason.
Obviously she was uncomfortable because any time she requested something it came with a story. Once the co-signer and letters were provided she was apparently willing to give you a shot despite the eviction on your record.
She was probably still wary but willing and then the whole needing to "[clear] my license of old dismissal fees the system did not clear it so I have to get it reproduced." I don't even know what that means but it's a red flag.
You sent her a copy of an expired license with no explanation? Why didn't you send the temporary one which would be dated and show that you were in the process of having it renewed? If I got that I'd be irritated and think you were trying to put one over on me.
I don't get the "rub" either. If the person you were going to room with has a clean background and driver's license why should she not rent to them?
Ok 1st off I explained to her that these were dismissal fees that I was not aware of because you know typically when you go to court and get your case dismissed you don't have fees. Now if I did not know this until the day I go to renew my license and I tell her this, then how does that make her wary??? And keep in mind she still encouraged me to apply AFTER telling her about my eviction. So I'm trying to see how fees on a license are making her "wary"... And I wasn't even thinking about the license situation because trying to move 1000miles requires a lot more of my attention. I've never known that to be an issue.
The rub of the situation is there b/c money is not a problem (I didn't include the part where my mom called her personally from another country on vacation to say she would be paying for my rent herself and that she would co-sign my application when she gets back next week), so why would a landlord opt to have just one tenant in one room when they can have two???
Ok 1st off I explained to her that these were dismissal fees that I was not aware of because you know typically when you go to court and get your case dismissed you don't have fees. Now if I did not know this until the day I go to renew my license and I tell her this, then how does that make her wary??? And keep in mind she still encouraged me to apply AFTER telling her about my eviction. So I'm trying to see how fees on a license are making her "wary"... And I wasn't even thinking about the license situation because trying to move 1000miles requires a lot more of my attention. I've never known that to be an issue.
The rub of the situation is there b/c money is not a problem (I didn't include the part where my mom called her personally from another country on vacation to say she would be paying for my rent herself and that she would co-sign my application when she gets back next week), so why would a landlord opt to have just one tenant in one room when they can have two???
The whys and wherefores really make no difference. The bottom line is that the LL decided against having you as a tenant. Your thread header indicated that you felt your rights were being violated, it's been explained to you that they were not and all that can be said is, better luck next time around! And good luck in law school. Cheers!
I don't understand the deal with the drivers license. Did you have some unpaid tickets and the state would not renew it until you paid?
That's exactly what I thought... the issue is I went to the office to renew my license and they tacked on a $30 fee for each dismissed ticket which I had to go to the municipal court to pay. I went back the next day and they renewed it so I have the temporary paper. Well it expired 2 days ago and when I called yesterday, apparently between when I went to renew my license and when it actually cleared (a span of about 3-4 hours), they cancelled the re-production of my license...
Now I'm trying to see what I did so wrong by being responsible that is now "too many things" despite her knowing everything and me satisfying ALL conditions of approval.
I do see what your saying, its odd to agree to accept your application with an eviction, get a co-signer, meet every request for documentation, approve you for tenancy and then decline for something minor.
Inspite of this, she hasn't violated any law or Fair Housing, but seems to be a poor business person.
Look at it this way, everything happens for a reason, maybe you and your roommate wouldn't have been the best match.
Last edited by virgode; 07-28-2010 at 11:11 AM..
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Pretty sure she is within her rights...
