Should We Rent to Them? There is One Misdemeanor 3 Years Ago

Question

Two young men interested in renting our two bedroom apartment.  Everything about them is fine: education and job.  They lived with each other before as roommates.  Now one of them told us that he has a misdemeanor in 2013 for drug possession.  The other person is clean.  We have not done the background check and don't know what will it report, but he said that he was in a car with three other friends in North Dakota (very conservative state, according to him) and all got caught because they had marijuana pipes.  If this is the whole story, I don't think it's that bad, and I am tempted to rent to them, but I don't know what else. And I don't know if there is any in dept background check that we can do.

Jackie Sladky · Answer

I'd like to thank everyone for the advises/suggestions and wanted to give an update.  We ended up did not rent to this young man.  We really wanted to give him a chance, as he truly was open, sending us everything that we need to know, but the more we dig, the more bad news came up.  There were DUI and DWI, besides marijuana possession and a few other misdemeanors, totaling up to six.  One previous landlord reported that he paid rent late four times and that they asked that either he moved or they'd proceed with eviction.   He has a good job now, and I hope that he'd stay clean, but when a person is under the influence of drug and alcohol, he's not himself.   We decided not to take the risk.

James Blackburn · Answer

If they are smoking pot in your unit the smell can soak into the walls and carpet which can drive down the resale value and chase away a lot of good future renters. Good luck trying to get rid of or worse mask the smell.

Gabe G. · Answer

who cares about pot?

Jackie Sladky · Answer

Thanks everyone for the response! I called him back and mentioned that he visited the place twice (I was not the one showing and didn't remember).  He corrected me instantly that he went there only once.  Well, at least the young man was fast with the fact.   We'll start with the background check and previous landlord and everything else.

Thomas S. · Answer

Do the credit check. That will tell the story.

If it is a high score then that combined with a positive check on job, income, previous landlord etc. should be fine.

Jim Young · Answer

Agreed.  Do the background check, talk to the previous landlords and if it all checks out I'd go ahead and accept him.  Like Landon said, good on him for admitting hit; honesty in a tenant is a very good thing.

The only issue, and I don't know enough to speak to it, is if you accept him as a tenant knowing that he has a misdemeanor, is there a way to get into a discriminatory housing situation because you selectively enforced your own rental criteria.  I doubt it, but I don't know.

Landon Eskew · Answer

If the background check doesn't bring up anything else I think that wouldn't be a problem.  A misdemeanor is a small offense and in ND they take serious drug offenses up to the felony level REEEAL quick.  I think he's fine and good on him for admitting to it.

JD Martin · Answer

If everything else checked out well I doubt that would be a disqualifier for one of my units.