Rejecting an applicant when I don't have another one at all

[Sarah A.]

We have a house that is harder to rent than our others. It's very clean and in good repair and priced well for our market, but it's older and has some odd features and it's not in the best area. Plus it's a slower rental season right now. 

Anyway, I only have one applicant, and I don't want to rent to this person. It's a character issue; I have evidence she's lying about how much her boyfriend would be there. 

I just want to cut and run and wait for the right one. What can I do/say? Do I have to spend hours processing the application when I already know I don't want to rent to this person? 

This one-applicant-at-a-time scenario could happen a lot with this house, so we need a plan. Thanks in advance! 

[Marcia Maynard]

Whoa!  You need to establish good rental criteria that will serve you well and hold up in a court of law. You need to learn and understand the ramifications of federal, state, and local laws for your jurisdiction. You need to make sure you adhere to all non-discrimination laws for protected classes. How well do you know landlord-tenant law for your jurisdiction? You need to know it better than testers, prospective renters, and tenants!

If the reason you decline this applicant is ambiguous, they could possibly cry foul. Some of your rental criteria is not verifiable and certainly is different than the industry norm. I'd take the house off the market and do what you need to do to establish yourself better as a landlord or hire a property management company. There are landmines out there that will destroy the novice. 

An online company like Cozy could help you with your marketing and tenant screening. That would be another option to consider.