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I have recently started looking for a place to live with fewer roommates. I have however, run into two problems.
1. No visitors- ...Ok, weird, even people in jail get visitors, but for some reason the person renting does not want people over or overnight people over. I looked in the renter's rights for my state and found out that they cannot enforce this. I also find it to be a major turn off. I mean i don't want to throw parties, but what if my gf wants to come over, so you are saying that she can't? But you still want $500-$600 for a room??
2. Background Check- or so they say? Several times I have caught people asking for my license and/or social security card for a background check. Most times, I refuse. Today I figured why not? I texted the person and said I would if they provided me with the same information that I would be happy to provide them with the information. They were NOT happy about that and told me basically they they didn't have to. Wait, but I don't know you either! What if you are a serial killer, rapist,child molester..
These two things turn me off to renting more than anything else. I am going back to college, so I don't have the luxury of having my own place. Is this the new norm now? I didn't have this problem a few years back.
If you are "sub-renting" then you may have very few rights. Note that you didn't name your state so situations vary depending on which state.
Furthermore if you are "sub-renting," the person who originally rented/leased the apartment or house might not even have the legal right to rent to you.
The landlord would rather run the credit and background check themselves since you could easily edit any background/credit check information before you send it to the landlord. It's as simple as editing a PDF or using photoshop.
I have recently started looking for a place to live with fewer roommates. I have however, run into two problems.
1. No visitors- ...Ok, weird, even people in jail get visitors, but for some reason the person renting does not want people over or overnight people over. I looked in the renter's rights for my state and found out that they cannot enforce this. I also find it to be a major turn off. I mean i don't want to throw parties, but what if my gf wants to come over, so you are saying that she can't? But you still want $500-$600 for a room??
You'd have to check your state laws regarding 'boarding' because that's basically what you're doing when you're renting a room. Yes, they can limit your visitors..they don't want your gf 'visiting' to the point of living there. Especially when you're not pay the utilities.
2. Background Check- or so they say? Several times I have caught people asking for my license and/or social security card for a background check. Most times, I refuse. Today I figured why not? I texted the person and said I would if they provided me with the same information that I would be happy to provide them with the information. They were NOT happy about that and told me basically they they didn't have to. Wait, but I don't know you either! What if you are a serial killer, rapist,child molester..
You can refuse a background and credit check and they can refuse to accept your application. A credit and background check is common practice for almost every landlord, I say "almost" because there are some out there who don't do a credit/background check and will rent to anyone under the sun....and it's not pretty.
You can check with your local tax office if they are truly the owners of the property and have legal right to rent to out..it's generally free to do that. We can do that online for free here in Florida. But the landlord is taking a huge risk by renting out his home and while credit and background check don't tell the whole story, it does give you a good idea of the type of person you're renting to.
These two things turn me off to renting more than anything else. I am going back to college, so I don't have the luxury of having my own place. Is this the new norm now? I didn't have this problem a few years back.
Well, you can be turned off all you want, this is common practice all over the country...so you either choose to stay with momma and daddy, buy your home, or suck it up and rent a room. Wait..you mentioned a gf...why don't you move in with her?? You two can rent a small studio or one bedroom unit together.
Background checks are very normal. There are services where the tenant inputs all their personal info and I just get sent a copy of the report, without ever needing their social. However, I also want a tenant's social because if I win a judgement against them and need to send it to a collections agency, I need it.
A rule against visitors is less normal, but not unheard of. I personally think if a landlord never ever wants their tenant to have guests overnight, then they shouldn't be a landlord in the first place. As you've learned, just because the leases has that rule, it doesn't mean it's actually enforceable.
I have recently started looking for a place to live with fewer roommates. I have however, run into two problems.
1. No visitors- ...Ok, weird, even people in jail get visitors, but for some reason the person renting does not want people over or overnight people over. I looked in the renter's rights for my state and found out that they cannot enforce this. I also find it to be a major turn off. I mean i don't want to throw parties, but what if my gf wants to come over, so you are saying that she can't? But you still want $500-$600 for a room??
2. Background Check- or so they say? Several times I have caught people asking for my license and/or social security card for a background check. Most times, I refuse. Today I figured why not? I texted the person and said I would if they provided me with the same information that I would be happy to provide them with the information. They were NOT happy about that and told me basically they they didn't have to. Wait, but I don't know you either! What if you are a serial killer, rapist,child molester..
These two things turn me off to renting more than anything else. I am going back to college, so I don't have the luxury of having my own place. Is this the new norm now? I didn't have this problem a few years back.
1. It's easy to enforce. If you agree to it you are breaking the lease rules. If you agree to it and say that it can't be enforced then all the LL has to do if you are on a 30 day lease is give you 30 days to find a new place. What if your GF is tired and wants to stay over, then she's an overnight guest and she is using the bathroom in the home to shower or whatever and is a temporary roommate. They are telling you beforehand because they don't want to run a circus.
2. A license is not overstepping the bounds to ask for, they do need state ID and can run a simple background check if they know what counties you lived in to see if you were arrested. The SS# may be required to run a full background check and look into evictions out of state. You can ask a LL for ID or proof they own the property even something such as an electric bill or the link to where property records are found online showing they are the owner or have a lease, but asking them for their SS is unreasonable because it's not necessary. When you get a job you have to show the employer your SS card but you can't ask them for theirs.
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