Rental Property Investor · Fort Worth, TX · Member since 2015 · 31 posts · 3 votes
Hello Fellow BPers!We are in the process of filling a vacancy on one of our properties and I have not encountered this situation before. The applicants are a husband and wife that have a daughter with special needs. We require all applicants over he age of 18 that will be living in the residence to have a background check and credit check ran (through Cozy.co) The daughter with special needs is over the age of 18 but morally I do not feel right making her do a background and credit check. Any advice on what to do in the situation would be greatly appreciated. The property is in Texas. Thank you!!
Well it depends on the level of special needs as well. If they are completely dependent on the parents for their needs for life then no I would not. But if they are high functioning and able to function close to normal then yes I would.
Special needs people generally just want to be treated the same as everyone else. So the best course of action is to treat them as you would anyone else.
Well it depends on the level of special needs as well. If they are completely dependent on the parents for their needs for life then no I would not. But if they are high functioning and able to function close to normal then yes I would.
@Michael Lewis, this was my thinking as well. She didn't seem to be completely dependent of her parents but I just didn't want to make them pay another $40 fee if it wasn't needed.
I would do a background check on everyone. It is doubtful that anything harmful would come up, especially considering her age. However, I would still let the parents know that this is your policy for everyone 18 and older to have a background check.
This will be especially useful if they decide later to ask permission for another family member to be added to the lease (sibling, nephew, elderly parent, etc) and you have already set the standard that everyone will be need to have a background check. Many disabled people also like to be treated like everyone else.