How To Deny Tenant Application

Question

Hello everyone,

My husband and I just bought our first rental house in Beloit Wisconsin, and are in the process of finalizing our Tenant Application.

I was wondering how to go about disqualifying applicants in a respectful, legal way (i.e one of our requirements is to have no evictions filed upon the prospective tenant).

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Hannah

Marcus Auerbach · Answer

Another great read - Mike Butler, Landlording on Autopilot. His advice: never turn an appliacant down, just ask them for more clarifications, more documents, more background checks etc. The fact that you declined someone is a risk by iteself, legidimatly or not - if you never formally decline anyone, you eliminate the risk.

Thomas S. · Answer

Inform all applicants that you are still in the process of receiving applications and once you find the one you want all others are simply informed that the vacancy has been filled. Never give any applicant a reason unless required by law.

If you do not find a qualified applicant then you reject simply by stating that you are sorry but that their application has been rejected. Tell them when they ask that you do not release the reason for rejecting simply that they did not meet their screen criteria.

Many times applicants are rejected due to appearance, attitude, upkeep of personal vehicle etc. You do not ever give applicants this information or ever give them any evidence to use against you in court.

Your reason for rejection is none of their business (unless your state laws require otherwise).

Hannah Kingslien · Answer

@Guy Yoes

Thank you very much for the advice!

Hannah Kingslien · Answer

@Thomas S.

Thank you!

Hannah Kingslien · Answer

@Marcus Auerbach

Thank you very much, I'm downloading it now!

Marcus Auerbach · Answer

Michael is correct, every state and even city can be a little different, but hiring am attorney may not be necessary. Here are a few things you can do first: you should download the WI State guide for landlords. It's called The Wisconsin Way and cover your question plus a lot more. If you google protected classes+your state+your city you can see who is in a protected class. Local law overrides state and federal law in this case.

Hannah Kingslien · Answer

@Michael Noto

Great advice, thank you! I will definitely get in contact with an attorney. Will it cost me anything to get in contact with an attorney and get this information?

Hannah Kingslien · Answer

@Timothy Steele

Thank you for the input, I didn't even think about that!

Hannah Kingslien · Answer

@Marcus Auerbach

Thank you so much for the advice!

Michael Noto · Answer

@Hannah Kingslien Before sending any kind of rejection letter make sure you know the reasons for which  you can legally reject someone for in your state. I would contact a local attorney for this info and not go by what people from different states are saying on a message board. Every state and municipality is different in this respect.

Not trying to be harsh at all, just from experience I see landlords get tripped up with this all the time and they are breaking the law and don't even know it.

How To Deny Tenant Application

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