Who you put in the house is the single largest controllable variable in a rental return. Everything else — rent, maintenance, financing — is arithmetic you can model. Tenant selection is the one that decides whether the model holds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The mistake owners make is thinking screening means being strict. It does not. It means being consistent<\/em>, and being able to prove it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fair housing law does not require you to accept everyone. It requires you not to treat people differently based on protected characteristics — race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status and disability under federal law, with additional protected classes in some jurisdictions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The danger for a small landlord is almost never deliberate discrimination. It is inconsistency. Making an exception for one applicant because they seemed nice, and not for another, creates a disparity you cannot explain later. If you cannot articulate the criterion you applied, you cannot defend the decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Written criteria applied identically protects you twice: it produces better tenants, and it produces a defensible record. We keep that record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We are not attorneys and this is not legal advice. If you have a specific fair housing question, talk to one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pattern beats snapshot. An applicant with a rough credit period two years ago and clean payment history since is frequently a better bet than one with a thinner but unblemished file. A history of paying rent on time, to an actual landlord, who will confirm it, is the strongest single signal available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We also weigh stability of the situation, not just the numbers — how long they intend to stay, whether the property genuinely fits the household, and whether the rent is a sustainable share of real income. A tenant stretched to the edge on day one is a delinquency in month five.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Screening is included in management. There is no separate screening fee on our fee schedule<\/a> — it is part of the $750 leasing fee when we place a tenant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Within legal limits and within reason, yes — and we will tell you if a criterion you want creates fair housing exposure. What we will not do is apply criteria inconsistently between applicants, because that is where the risk actually lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\nHow we screen<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Why consistency matters more than strictness<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
What we actually look for<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
What this costs you<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Questions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Can I set my own criteria?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Do you accept housing choice vouchers?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n