Be Cautious In Dealing With Criminal Histories

One of the hottest topics these days in the tenant screening industry is whether or not communities can deny tenancy based on an applicant's criminal record.

The long and short of it is yes, as long as you are careful, and have well established guidelines.

The proper question isn't really whether or not you can deny a person tenancy based on their criminal record, but rather, can you do so without getting sued for discrimination.  The law governing this area is the Federal Fair Housing Act.

According to that statute, you as a landlord, cannot refuse to rent to a person based on their age, gender, marital status, race, religion, national origin, and a few other characteristics. 

As far as this decision is concerned, the most important section of the Fair Housing Act is section 3604(f)(9), which states, "Nothing in this subsection requires that a dwelling be made available to an individual whose tenancy would result in substantial physical damage to the property of others."

It is this section that landlords fall back on to deny tenancy based on a person's criminal record.

Before you deny tenancy due to an applicant's criminal record, be sure to take the following safeguards.  They just might save you from very costly lawsuits for discrimination.

DON'T: Automatically deny tenancy just because the applicant tells you that they have a criminal record.

DO: Always make an independent and objective evaluation of the actual threat that the tenancy of the applicant would pose on the other tenants and their property, and base the decision to accept or deny tenancy on that investigation.

Reprinted Courtesy of The Rental Resource Network.