Can my property manager get in trouble for improper screening?

Question

Hi, I’m a landlord this is my first property and first tenant.
I use to have a property manager and he was terrible. He never answered his phone, always gave me the rent super late and always told me he Got someone to fixed things and never did.

anyway, my point is, I feel like the property manager didn’t screen her properly. And didn’t do his job.

As in I think my tenant had a previous eviction. Is he allowed to rent my home to someone with an eviction? Can he get in trouble for that?

I asked him and he said he has to get her permission to tell me that or to share her screening.
But he quit so now I have no information about her. She won’t give him permission to let me see her screening.

Also, is it illegal for me to look at public court records online to see if she had previous evictions?

thank you,

Crystal Smith · Answer

Thank you so much for responding!

Nathan Gesner · Answer

Cyrstal, it sounds like your property manager just sucks. It's not illegal to suck at your job.

If they are a licensed property manager, they do have a legal obligation to maintain records and certain records must be shared with you. If the PM quit and transferred the property back to you, they should have transferred that tenant's file, or at least a copy of it, so you could take over.

I would contact the state commission and see about filing a complaint. If the person still has their license, your threat of a complaint is usually enough to scare the individual straight. If they've given up their license, you're probably stuck.

The tenant is already in the property so it doesn't matter if they had 20 previous evictions or none. You have a lease and have to honor it until it ends or the tenant does something to justify eviction.

Joseph Firmin · Answer

Won't be illegal to look at public records, but may be dicey to find exactly what you're looking for. Either way, check the agreement you signed with your PM. If it is like most PM agreements I've seen, most of the liability is on the landlord and the landlord indemnifies the PM. If you don't have an agreement with the PM, then it is all up for interpretation. You probably just want to start over with a good PM (properly vetted) and if necessary, evict the resident.