Who won’t you rent to? The 3 P’s!

All things being equal, and several financially qualified candidates to choose from, are there any specific occupations you prefer not to rent to?

Last month I posed this question on a landlord forum and was surprised that answers were mostly what I call “The 3 Ps.”

The first P was already at the top of my “no rent to” list:Property Managers. The first time a property manager applied for one of my properties I was elated! As one who manages my own properties, yet has to rent often due to the transient nature of my work, I just assumed all property managers would take as good care of the property as I do.Instead, I discovered that property managers know all the loopholes and know many ways to bully landlords into unnecessary ascensions.Our relationship ended early, thankfully, when I gave her the “you’re clearly not happy here so I’ll let you out of the lease.”

The next P was quite surprising to me:Overwhelmingly, these experienced landlords said they preferred not to rent to police officers and if all other qualifications were met and they had another equally qualified individual, they would choose someone else.I always thought a policeman would be a great way to provide added security… and it could… but what happens when that relationship sours?Whose side will his buddies at the station, and in the courts, take?

The final P hurt my heart a little bit, since I’m a very active ministry volunteer:Preachers!I jokingly asked, “Why? Is it because Jesus paid it all… so they don’t think they have to?” The reasons given for this were quite vague. From what I gleaned, they often can’t sustain timely payment of rent, and when they fall behind they expect the landlord to cut them a break because of the ministry.

Are there are any occupations on your “hope not” list. I’m not asking about protected classes or anything (one guy’s post got removed because he wouldn’t rent to someone who looked like me even if they, like I, had the money).

The funniest responses to my post were the (many) landlords who, like myself, said they wouldn't rent to someone in a category they themselves were in! For example, move too often, no credit score, etc.

I’m curious what your experiences have been?