How much info is too much?

[Carrie A.]

Bought my first duplex in September. Closing in on getting the rehab done on the side a tenant moved out of in December.  I've tried looking up Indiana landlord-tenant laws and come up with a bunch of codes to laws that tells me nothing.  How much information is too much to ask for?  I'm asking for employment verification with 2 recent pay stubs with bring home of no less then 2.5x monthly rent (3x if you have a credit score of less than 600), must pass background check/credit check through www.mysmartmove.com, and complete an application.  Am I missing something??

[Nicole A.]

You would want to be familiar with your Fair Housing Laws that are nationwide and sometimes county/state-wide. Asking for employment verification and pay stubs is standard, so you're fine there. You can't say something like "we won't take anyone with children" for example.

I like to get a copy of the applicants' state ID and their date of birth. I used to also get copy of their SS card, but confirm in your area on that. You are responsible for keeping Personal Identifying Information (PII) safe.

The laws you'll find online are typically more on how to properly serve notices, carry out evictions, your responsibilities, etc.

If you do not have a lease, see if BiggerPockets has released their landlord package for your state yet. It includes all kinds of super helpful documents to include a lease for your state, already looked over by attorneys.