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In our County, "Source of Income" has just been made a protected class.
We can't ask potential tenants if they're working or where they're working or ask for pay stubs, etc. If they volunteer, we're good to go.
We CAN ask for bank statements, tax returns, etc.
My wife and I would like to move to a nicer apartment and spend a little more of our income on rent than the traditional 35%. Corporate run apartments in seem to be very strict about minimum income vs. rent requirements. But if we put on the application form that we make more money than we do, are they actually going to call our employers and verify our income? Or are they going to ask for a copy of our paycheck stub? How are they going to verify our income, in most cases?
They ask for paystubs or have an income verification form your employer needs to fill out/
If you're spending 35% of you income on rent, you're living beyond your means. Housing shouldn't be more than 24%.
Private landlords and property managers can be just as strict and will require up to 3 times the rental rate in income.
We require recent paystubs, or if you are self employed, last 2 years' tax return. Occasionally we accept 3 months bank statements for retired persons who always get a direct deposit. We can also call to verify employment or income. I'd be on the safe side if I were you and tell the truth. I realize that's a novel idea to some but it seems to work well.
In our County, "Source of Income" has just been made a protected class.
We can't ask potential tenants if they're working or where they're working or ask for pay stubs, etc. If they volunteer, we're good to go.
We CAN ask for bank statements, tax returns, etc.
I would like to see that law if you have a copy you could post? In my estimation, that only means you cannot discriminate based on the source of income. Just like you can't discriminate based on race or religion etc. It doesn't mean you can't have a policy where applicants have to prove they have income. So if they're on unemployment or receive ADC for instance you can't turn them down.
In our County, "Source of Income" has just been made a protected class.
We can't ask potential tenants if they're working or where they're working or ask for pay stubs, etc. If they volunteer, we're good to go.
We CAN ask for bank statements, tax returns, etc.
Generally "source of income" being a protected does not mean that the landlord can not verify your income. It means that the landlord can not reject if the source of that income is the only reason to reject.
It's hard to imagine that even the most incompetent politician would pass a law that says that landlords have to rent to anyone whether they have income or not or that a landlord must accept a drug dealer.
Generally, those laws are written to try to help Section 8 tenants, but usually the way the law is written is that no legal source of income can be used to deny an applicant. Don't want strippers living in your building? Too bad. Unless you can find another legal reason to reject them, you can't turn them down just because they make their money taking their clothes off.
Let me know where I can look up the law you are talking about Elke Mariotti, because I am interested in reading it myself.
That was the stated interpretation by a real estate attorney from the local Board of Realtors. I have not personally seen the actual law. You've made me curious--I'll look into it further!
That was the stated interpretation by a real estate attorney from the local Board of Realtors. I have not personally seen the actual law. You've made me curious--I'll look into it further!
If you mean SCC 528 that simply states a landlord can not make adverse decision based on the source of legal money as income. Landlords in Suffolk County are still free to verify income as they always have.
...I have lived in numerous apartments through the years all run by large real estate corporations and I have never filled out a release form allowing my employer to get my salary and employment information.
It's usually the fine print toward the end of the application that you initially fill out - before you get the apartment. It's often a few sentences of fine print just before your signatures. It's so small, you might have missed it.
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