Declining an application for rental - how to do it? (lease, credit score)
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I will just tell you how I handle it. Number 1- I do not charge an Application Fee. I know a lot of people do. I do make people to go get their own Criminal Background Check.
If for some reason, I do not feel comfortable renting to them. I just wait for them to call me back. Politely say, "I am sorry, I am not interested in renting to you." I am not required by law to give a reason. As long as the refusal is not based on what is in the Fair Housing Law. Do not mention anything, you will not be responsible for anything. Safest thing is not to say a word, except "I am not interested in renting to you."
You can base it on Credit, Evictions, Criminal History, References. You can also just not want to rent to them. You best not say anything except "I am not interested in renting to you". Anything else could get you investigated and sued.
I will just tell you how I handle it. Number 1- I do not charge an Application Fee. I know a lot of people do. I do make people to go get their own Criminal Background Check.
If for some reason, I do not feel comfortable renting to them. I just wait for them to call me back. Politely say, "I am sorry, I am not interested in renting to you." I am not required by law to give a reason. As long as the refusal is not based on what is in the Fair Housing Law. Do not mention anything, you will not be responsible for anything. Safest thing is not to say a word, except "I am not interested in renting to you."
You can base it on Credit, Evictions, Criminal History, References. You can also just not want to rent to them. You best not say anything except "I am not interested in renting to you". Anything else could get you investigated and sued.
Heck, you could still get sued, then you'd have to defend your action in a court of law.
I will just tell you how I handle it. Number 1- I do not charge an Application Fee. I know a lot of people do. I do make people to go get their own Criminal Background Check.
If for some reason, I do not feel comfortable renting to them. I just wait for them to call me back. Politely say, "I am sorry, I am not interested in renting to you." I am not required by law to give a reason. As long as the refusal is not based on what is in the Fair Housing Law. Do not mention anything, you will not be responsible for anything. Safest thing is not to say a word, except "I am not interested in renting to you."
You can base it on Credit, Evictions, Criminal History, References. You can also just not want to rent to them. You best not say anything except "I am not interested in renting to you". Anything else could get you investigated and sued.
why dont you charge an application fee? doesnt it cost like 25 dollars to do a credit check on someone?
why dont you charge an application fee? doesnt it cost like 25 dollars to do a credit check on someone?
Many landlords simply consider it as part of the cost of doing business while many who do charge an application fee return it to the successful applicant in the form of a credit towards the first month's rent. And don't confuse an application fee with the fee for a background/credit check as they're not always synonymous.
I will just tell you how I handle it. Number 1- I do not charge an Application Fee. I know a lot of people do. I do make people to go get their own Criminal Background Check.
If for some reason, I do not feel comfortable renting to them. I just wait for them to call me back. Politely say, "I am sorry, I am not interested in renting to you." I am not required by law to give a reason. As long as the refusal is not based on what is in the Fair Housing Law. Do not mention anything, you will not be responsible for anything. Safest thing is not to say a word, except "I am not interested in renting to you."
You can base it on Credit, Evictions, Criminal History, References. You can also just not want to rent to them. You best not say anything except "I am not interested in renting to you". Anything else could get you investigated and sued.
You not charging an app fee is fine, but allowing someone to pull their own reports? That's a no no. You should be charging them and doing it on your own. And doing a proper CBC can take a few days or up to a month (depending on the company and how far back they go and if they have to go out of state) so if someone shows 24 hrs later with a 'background check'...I'd be a bit leery.
I will just tell you how I handle it. Number 1- I do not charge an Application Fee. I know a lot of people do. I do make people to go get their own Criminal Background Check.
If for some reason, I do not feel comfortable renting to them. I just wait for them to call me back. Politely say, "I am sorry, I am not interested in renting to you." I am not required by law to give a reason. As long as the refusal is not based on what is in the Fair Housing Law. Do not mention anything, you will not be responsible for anything. Safest thing is not to say a word, except "I am not interested in renting to you."
You can base it on Credit, Evictions, Criminal History, References. You can also just not want to rent to them. You best not say anything except "I am not interested in renting to you". Anything else could get you investigated and sued.
Wow.
I know I am Lazarusing this old thread.
But how do people become wealthy enough to own all these properties and not know you are REQUIRED BY LAW to give a WRITTEN denial to an applicant stating the EXACT REASON for the denial!?!?!
But how do people become wealthy enough to own all these properties and not know you are REQUIRED BY LAW to give a WRITTEN denial to an applicant stating the EXACT REASON for the denial!?!?!
Depends on the state laws. And unless you're denying them based on a credit report, you probably don't have to.
And honestly, I never gave anyone a written denial. I just called them up. They are never surprised, and never asked for anything in writing. They might argue that they'll be great, even though their credit is terrible or they're not really employed but they're sure they can pay the rent, etc. But, they're not surprised they got turned down.
I managed a building with 25 rentals for 8 years with no problems doing this.
........But how do people become wealthy enough to own all these properties and not know you are REQUIRED BY LAW to give a WRITTEN denial to an applicant stating the EXACT REASON for the denial!?!?!
It's because the landlord is not required to give a written rejection with a reason. I dunno, though, maybe you live in Canada? Canada tends to be quite hostile to landlords.
But how do people become wealthy enough to own all these properties and not know you are REQUIRED BY LAW to give a WRITTEN denial to an applicant stating the EXACT REASON for the denial!?!?!
Unless there is a state law for it there is nothing at the federal level except when the denial is due to credit reasons. If it is because credit reasons and you admit to it you also have to inform them of where they can get a copy of the report for free.
I always send a denial letter but never a phone call, too many pissed off people and I don't care to listen to the stories everyone has anymore. I screen all applicants as first come first serve and tell everyone there is an application ahead of them even if they are the first person. I don't take an application fee but I do have tenants pay for their own credit/criminal checks through SmartMove or other services, I just started using SmartMove and it is okay. When I take an application I just say I will get back to you in a few days if the application ahead of you falls through and at that time is when they will pay the credit/background check fee. If I deny before I run credit/background checks I shred the application and move on because there hasn't been any money lost to the tenant just time, I actually can only remember once where a person called me to follow up. The rental market here is pretty tight so I always get a ton of applications right away and I assume most people renting here understand that.
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