{"id":97377,"date":"2018-03-12T14:30:01","date_gmt":"2018-03-12T20:30:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/renewsblog\/?p=97377"},"modified":"2021-03-16T13:50:56","modified_gmt":"2021-03-16T19:50:56","slug":"landlord-use-their-gut-tenant-screening","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/landlord-use-their-gut-tenant-screening","title":{"rendered":"Should it Be Legal for Landlords to \u201cUse Their Gut\u201d When Screening Tenants?"},"content":{"rendered":"

There has been a bit of a fuss lately in Seattle regarding an ordinance the city passed back in 2016<\/a>. The City believed that landlords were not being fair to all prospective applicants. They worried that a potential applicant who met all of the landlord\u2019s qualifications to rent a property was still be denied in favor of someone who was, I guess you could say, even more qualified. The City therefore ordained that landlords must accept the first applicant who meets a landlord\u2019s rental qualification guidelines. Landlords can no longer discriminate amongst qualified applicants. Some landlords, especially smaller ones, recently cried foul<\/a>, stating that \u201cthey have to use their gut feeling\u201d somewhat when qualifying tenants. Being a smaller landlord, I have to say that I use my gut all the time in screening tenants\u2014but perhaps not in the way that you might think.<\/p>\n

Must Landlords Select Based on “First Come, First Serve”?<\/h2>\n

I suspect some of this fuss stems from the fact that Seattle is a hot real estate market. According to Trulia.com<\/a>, rents in the area have increased significantly, up about $300 over the past year or so. These numbers lead me to believe that the demand for housing is very strong, and I would bet that most landlords are in the enviable position of having numerous qualified applicants.
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\nRelated:<\/strong> 10 Not-So-Obvious Ways to Thoroughly Screen Potential Tenants<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

So, how then should landlords choose the best applicant in Seattle\u2014or anywhere else for that matter? Should landlords be forced to select tenants on a \u201cfirst come, first serve\u201d basis, or should they be able to \u201cuse their gut\u201d and pick from a pool of qualified applicants? Can the rental application and qualification process be distilled down to checking \u201cyes\u201d or \u201cno\u201d boxes on a form? Should landlords have to take the first qualified tenant? I\u2019m not completely sure, and there are many property and association rights issues there, but I do think that the tenant application and qualification process can be tailored so that the items used to qualify applicants have a direct bearing on whether or not the applicant will be a suitable tenant even when using your gut feelings.<\/p>\n

Here is what I mean.<\/p>\n

\"tenant-funnel\"<\/p>\n

A List of Specific Criteria<\/h2>\n

All landlords, no matter how small an operation they are, should have a written list of criteria they use to qualify and disqualify potential tenants. This list should have a direct bearing on the individual\u2019s ability pay rent and in general be a good tenant.<\/p>\n

This may include items such as:<\/p>\n