I want to deny this potential tenant. Would you agree?

Question

Hello all,

A couple w/ 4 kids. She has been at her job for 4 months. He has been at his job for 5 months. Prior to that they were both at their previous jobs about 1 yr. She is living w her sister and he renting a room and they want to move in together. She put her sister as her landlord reference.

Would it be okay to deny based on too short of a time at jobs based on not having stable and reliable income

and also include in the denial letter that she doesn't have a landlord reference?

would you agree w/ this ?

thanks

Ke Nan Wang · Answer

In general, even if your operation falls under the exemption of fair housing laws, I would recommend only write the bare minimum in a denial letter. If you have qualification requirements and there is one that the applicant doesn't meet, then just use that one.

Personally, just based on the information you provided wouldn't be reasons to deny an applicant. Especially if you don't have other applications in the pool.

I would call the employer and ask for an employer reference. The reference needs to show that the employee is a stable to the company.

Relative is fine, if she's paying rent to the relative, I would ask for a bank statement showing the rent payment going out of the applicant's account each month during their tenancy. If the rent payment is showing on the 1st or before, that's an indication of a responsible behavior.

If it's a couple from two different rentals, bank statements from each of them will show their payment behavior. You can ask them to redact as much as necessary, just show the rent payment line item and that's the only thing you care about.

Then take a look at the combined past rent in relationship to your current rent? If they are similar, I would say they will be fine. If there is a big jump, then I would ask for additional security, either 50% more in security or pay last two month rent as an example.

Dominick Johnson · Answer

Stick to your application requirements to avoid potentially being accused of violating fair housing laws. With that description, surely they don't meet one of the standard minimum requirements that should be in your application:

no evictions, no felonies, minimum credit score, minimum monthly income 3x the rent, positive references from landlords and employers, 2 months paystubs.

If they meet all of those requirements and you don't want to approve them, wait until you have a more qualified applicant and use that as your denial reason.

Ned J. · Answer

If you decline them, dont offer specifics of why..... just a generic, "we appreciate your interest.....we found a more qualified applicant...best of luck on your continued search". Less is better

Eliott Elias · Answer

Why did they leave the other job they had for one year? I don't see this as a red flag unless the reason justifies it.

Richard F. · Answer

Total household income should be a factor. It needs to be verifiable, but if they (individually or together) have some savings and a history of employment, what is the real issue? You can ask for additional details of their history if there are gaps or whatever, but especially with younger applicants change is normal...lousy jobs, lousy bosses, dose of reality, change jobs until you find what is good for you. Far different from someone with no verifiable history, no savings, or working for cash. And far different from someone that lands a good job with a good company early in their career. Plenty of people are only working for the paycheck. Others are attending school while working multiple jobs and also getting support from family.

Make sure you have the "joint and several" clause in your Rental Agreement. If they have NO savings, and, dependent on the actual  total income, you might ask for a local co-signer (and run their background and credit checks looking for problems too).

Kevin Sobilo · Answer

@Linda Thomas, are you just looking for a reason to deny them or do you have a legitimate concern about them or their qualifications.

People change jobs all the time, many people relocate for jobs and they too need a place to live as they start a new job.

Also, if for example this is a C class workforce type housing unit, their jobs might be easily replaceable. They might work for a warehouse for $18/hour and if they get laid off or quit be able to catch on with a similar job at similar pay readily. So, length of employment could be less critical.

The middle manager with 20 years at their job might be a BIGGER risk as they have "golden handcuffs" meaning when they get laid off in a recession they might be able to find another job but likely not at the same bloated pay rate they originally had.

Greg Scott · Answer

Did she meet your previously-written criteria for a prospective renter?  If the answer is yes, then yes.  If no, then you can decide if you would take them with a higher security deposit.

If you don't have a written criteria, you open yourself up for Fair Housing complaints.

I want to deny this potential tenant. Would you agree?

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