Legal questions to ask when checking references

[Marc Lyman]

Often when I’m checking references on a prospective tenant the old landlord is very tight lipped about giving any information stating legal reasons. I seem to get “I can only tell you whether or not I would rent to this person againâ€. What are some good questions that can be asked and answered legally? Seems like they should be able to state if the person paid rent on time or did any damage to the unit.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[Karen Parker]

I thought I would provide a little insight as to why you get responses such as this. It is typically when you call for a reference from a large apartment complex owned by a sizable corporation. This is the standard reply managers have been told to give because there have been instances where a person has been denied employment, housing, loans, etc. due to responses given by a so-called reference that have resulted in legal action against the respondent or their employer. It is not worth the time and legal costs that they may be subjected to for providing further information.