Best Practices For Screening Tenants Series
Part 1
Rental Application: Yes Or No?
The answer is a resounding YES.
You should require all tenant prospects to fill out an application. The business of real estate is done in writing and having an application and a consistently applied application process helps you as a landlord in several ways:
First, it sets you apart from other landlords (makes you look more organized and professional)–remember, you are competing with other landlords for good tenants!
Also, having pre-established and objective application criteria allows a landlord to justifiably reject a prospective tenant for any of the following reasons:
- Credit history
- Income
- History of nonpayment of rent
- Prior bankruptcies
- References
- Certain types of criminal convictions
- Pets
Stay tuned to next weeks part 2, what information a landlord should collect on their rental application.