Today a family of 6 (3 adults, 2 babies, and a 10 year old) viewed one of my apartments but only the 10 year old could speak English. I tried my best to speak to the adults through the 10 year old but the child struggled to explain the rental income requirement. I ended up giving up trying to explain rental income, gave them an application, and left for my next showing. I admit I am new to property managing but it seems hazardous to conduct business with a child. I would think there would be a law that would protect landlords from business like this. What if the child words what their parents say incorrectly? The child can't be held responsible for any problems that result from bad communication. What if you allowed them to move in and the rest of the time the kid isn't available and they can't understand a word I say? What if there is an emergency and I can't communicate with them? Don't I have a right to protect my business from bad business scenarios?
I really think what's being missed here is that these (potential) tenants may be well-qualified, excellent tenants. Finding good tenants costs me money, so if they're already in front of you, why not try to say yes, instead of trying to find a legal excuse to say no?
In my area, I've seen some terrible slumlords who cater to those who don't speak English well, they take advantage & give anyone who rents property a bad name. Perhaps these tenants are trying to better their lot in life and hoping to use your home as stepping stone, that's a compliment from them, not a sign of "laziness". No one is pissin' on your great-grandpa's grave, or talking about giving California back to Mexico here - so far all we know is that the OP has a communication issue with some potential tenants.
It shouldn't be that difficult to find an adult to bridge the language gap.
Did they complete an application? You could contact their prior landlord and find out how the situation was handled previously. They may have another family member who can assist.
If you can't communicate with the tenant, how can you enter into a lease with them? If your fear is a claim of discrimination, give your attorney a call and ask how to handle.
I encountered similar experience. What I did was write all the numbers down on a piece of papers (i.e, deposit, monthly rent, moving in amount, etc). I also asked my child interpreter if her parents have any questions instead of me trying to explain everything to them.
I've had several tenants like this. Its tough. But choosing not to have rented to them because of the language difficulties would have caused me to miss good tenants. And, yes, I've had to have some conversations with a 10 year old that really shouldn't be had with a child.
Google translate can help. Its hardly perfect, but there have been times I used that to deal with something. In my case, its mostly Spanish, and I can speak a little. I have a friend who speak quite a bit and is also a landlord. So, in a pinch, he helps me out.
Seriously guys.... Post an ad on craigslist for a translator, i'd think someone could do it via phone pretty easily on a 3 way call. Keep their number if you decide to keep the tenant and give em 10/hr or something. If that doesn't work find a realtor that will do it.
Let the kid be a kid and treat the parents like adults. Makes for a better relationship.
Ken Durden I am the oddball here, but I would not rent to tenants that did not have at least one adult that didn't speak English. Too many things can go wrong when you are translating through a child.
I think you should be required to speak English BEFORE you move to America. Having said that, I would tell these people that they need to get a translator at THEIR expense. You shouldn't be required to speak their native tongue.
I've had more than a few rental showings like this. I've had a few where the prospects brought along some other person to translate.
I've even sold one to somebody who had a family member translate for them!
They can be good prospects, but I agree that the language barrier might end up making them unsuitable for you as the landlord.
Thanks for the advice, but most people seem to be addressing the practical question rather than the legal question. I haven't consulted with a lawyer, because I was hoping tons of landlords have dealt with this issue enough to know what the law says (and because lawyers are expensive and I don't have a working relationship with one at present).
I found this info:
http://www.seattle.gov/civilrights/documents/RHB_Engl.pdf
"Limited-English Speakers
I don’t speak English well and some landlords refuse to talk with me
when I try to apply. Is this discrimination?
Probably. A landlord cannot turn away an applicant simply because of a strong accent or because communication with a limited-English speaker presents an extra challenge. This violates laws protecting people on the basis of “national origin.” Landlords and managers must make every reasonable effort to communicate. However, landlords have the right to do business in English and are not required to translate applications, lease agreements, etc.
Is a landlord required to hire an interpreter to help me through
an interview and application process?
If you need an interpreter, you will probably have to arrange and pay for the service yourself, or you might try getting a friend to help. If a landlord won’t let you bring someone who speaks English with you to read through your lease before signing, it could be an act of discrimination. Call your local fair housing agency.
My landlord is evicting me because I broke the rules, but I speak
very little English and didn’t know I was doing anything wrong.
What can I do?
As a tenant, it is your responsibility to follow the rules regardless of your language ability. However, a landlord must give you written notice that you have broken the rules, along with the opportunity to comply before you are evicted. If you understand little English, you should seek help from someone who can interpret official documents you receive or are asked to sign. These might include leases, notices to vacate or court orders regarding eviction."
This seems to indicate that I can request the tenant hire an interpreter or bring an English-speaking adult to serve as an interpreter during the application/interview process -- although the question is framed from the perspective of the applicant, it seems to say if the applicant feels they need an interpreter the landlord is not required to pay for one, not if the landlord feels they need an interpreter the applicant is required to provide one (a non-child interpreter).
It seems to me, however, to say that I do not, as a landlord, have the right to not rent to someone who has zero English-speaking ability. Even if I interpret the interpreter question in a pro-landlord way, and require the applicant to provide an interpreter, I'm still not allowed to not rent to them because the reasonable expectation that communication with them will be an unreasonable burden since they are likely to not have that interpreter during our future communications (lease violations, late rent notices, etc).
Giving the uncertainty in the law, it certainly seems like _it could_ be interpreted as discrimination to not be willing to conduct business with someone with virtually no English skills. (NOTE that this is NOT an issue of accent or national origin, it is purely a situation of inability to communicate in a language both of us know).
Ken Durden Could your applicants put together a sentence in English? It doesn't have to be correct English and can be broken, but can you have a conversation with them? If they can't do that and can't speak any English besides thank you, no, yes, please, etc. then I wouldn't rent to them. Your example of limited English wouldn't apply to them since their English is nonexistent.
Translate a bullet list of your requirements and enjoy what will probably be the best tenants you've ever had. You could probably get a foreign exchange college kid 50 bucks to write it out for you. They can't work here and love side cash jobs.
AFAIK, the language you speak or don't speak isn't a "protected class". However, as the material Ken Durden found seems to indicate, this could be a proxy for "national origin", which is a protected class. I think you're playing with fire if you will rent to only English speaking applicants.
Ken Durden Tell the child of these clowns that they need to get an adult interpreter. It's not your responsibilty to get them one.
I have a tenant with one arm. It's not my responsibility to clean the house because he can't hold a broom. I had a deaf guy look at a rental once. He called me through a service where he typed his questions to a third party that spoke to me. When he came to look at the house, he brought someone with him that knew sign language. We were able to communicate that way.
The brick guy that does work for me speaks very little English. He is able to text (or has someone do it for him). Either way, that is how we coimmunicate and it works out fine.
Not speaking the language of the country that you reside in is a self inflicted problem. It's not a disabilty. I would like to see any of us go to a foreign country and demand that everyone speak to us in English. Then maybe we could state that we are too lazy to work so we should get a check every month. Maybe we could get food stamps and public housing too.
Rob K there is no law making English or any other language the "official language" of the US. To equate not speaking English to being "too lazy to work" is, frankly, asinine. And very much contrary to my experience.
There is, OTOH, a law saying you cannot discriminate based on race or national origin.
Jon Holdman Not speaking English has nothing to do with race or national origin. You are not required to cater to people that don't speak the language. If someone wants to rent from you, it is their job to be able to communicate with you. If they don't know the language, it is incumbent on them to provide an interpreter. You are not required to have a translator on standby for every language.
I really think what's being missed here is that these (potential) tenants may be well-qualified, excellent tenants. Finding good tenants costs me money, so if they're already in front of you, why not try to say yes, instead of trying to find a legal excuse to say no?
In my area, I've seen some terrible slumlords who cater to those who don't speak English well, they take advantage & give anyone who rents property a bad name. Perhaps these tenants are trying to better their lot in life and hoping to use your home as stepping stone, that's a compliment from them, not a sign of "laziness". No one is pissin' on your great-grandpa's grave, or talking about giving California back to Mexico here - so far all we know is that the OP has a communication issue with some potential tenants.
It shouldn't be that difficult to find an adult to bridge the language gap.
My tenants are Spanish only speakers, but they have lived here long enough and have jobs that they get the jist of a lot what gets said, regarding money in particular. With my patchwork of Spanish speaking ability, it works out. Nonetheless, my wife is fluent, so that makes it a lot easier when I don't want to have an excercise in language. Most Spanish only speakers have friends who can interpret. The only thing that I would have pause about would be when an issue arises and it is hard to communicate. If you have low income properties, you would do yourself a serious favor by learning some rudimentary Spanish. Not judging all Spanish speakers as low income, but chances are good that if one lives in the US and does not speak English, they don't make much money.
Let the kid be a kid and treat the parents like adults. Makes for a better relationship.
I would not take the burden of getting a translator in this manner. It is ultimately their responsibilty to deal with the King's language.
As far as letting "kids be kids" you are not ruining a childhood by discussing a rental agreement. Kids love to be included in stuff. Besides, if the kid's parents don't speak English, translating for parents will be a fact of their life. You aren't making relationships better or worse.
Ken Durden,
One last thing. If you are worried about discrimination, find another reason to decline them. In Texas, an application can be declined for being incomplete. I have read advice in landlording books to use that as a reason so I would guess it to be true in at least some other states. Have some extra questions that would be hard for them to answere like the last 5 addresses or whatever. Applicants usually leave something blank. If you can't figure your way through something, figure your way around it.
Judging from some of the non-English speaking people of Hispanic descent that I've interviewed as applicants, I suspect that you may have candidates here who are not in the USA legally. So they will have no (or fake) SSN, and without that it's hard to get a credit report. That (requiring a credit report) is not discriminating against national origin, it's checking credit-worthiness.
Brian Hoyt
I assume your leases are all in English. I am inheriting some tenants where English isn't their first language. I plan to write up new leases. They speak enough English to communicate basic things, but I'm worried about if things get ugly. Say you take them to court and they tell the judge they didn't know what they were signing... Maybe in Texas it is okay, but I can definitely see some of the more liberal states ruling in the tenant's favor here.
Where I live there are many people who move here from Puerto Rico, they are citizens and have SS #'s, but generally don't speak English. I am not a landlord (yet), but at work and around town I do sometimes need to communicate. I use an app called iTranslate, its free for iPhone and iPad. You can input in English and it will translate what you wrote into any language you choose, it will even speak out loud whatever you wrote in the chosen language. The only negative I have found is that if the person you are talking to is illiterate, they can't respond, but I've only had that happen once. I would definitely try to find a way to communicate, they could be great tenants.
My take on this is that if I buy rentals in blue collar neighborhoods I am more likely to face these issues on a regular basis, and if I was going to do a lot of business in that area I would consider hiring a part time bi-lingual employee and train him/her to perform property management duties, which we all know are not just limited to screening and signing leases; I want to maintain good communication with my tenants to make sure the property is well maintained. In California the landlord must give the tenant a written translation of the proposed lease or rental agreement in the language used in the negotiation before the tenant signs it to be binding, I am not sure if this a requirement in other states.
While I do treat all fairly, and would never discriminate on ethenticity or national orgin matters, I have never seen anyone who could not speak english have "sufficient" credit! :)
this is a tough one. Maybe try Google translate?