The new guidance recently released by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) addresses the fair and lawful use of criminal background records as part of the tenant screening process.  Landlords and property managers need to take a close look at this and compare it with their current tenant screening policies.  They need to be sure they don’t illegally preclude housing to individuals of a protected class.  Even if the tenant application process appears to be none discriminatory on a larger scope could become a disparate impact.  This is where background screening and the application process on the surface looks non-discriminatory but overall could be negatively effecting a minority.

HUD is taking this a step further and is essentially saying that housing cannot be denied to individuals with a criminal history record.

From DallasVoice.com (Apr. 04, 16):

The Department of Housing and Urban Development today (Monday, April 4) released a new policy that would eliminate housing discrimination against people with a criminal history.

(1)               The new policy clarifies that using criminal history to justify a negative housing decision, such as the refusal to rent to or renew a lease for someone, or the refusal to sell to or to give someone a mortgage on a new home, may violate the Fair Housing Act.  dallasvoice.com/national-lgbtq-task-force-praises-hud-guidance-targeting-discrimination-based-criminal-history-10217163.html

The availability of affordable housing is certainly a critical issue affecting many metropolis’s, cities and highly populated geographic areas within the USA.  These apartments are in high demand for minorities and low income families and HUD is trying to make it easier for these people to get accepted into such an apartment.  This is why HUD is trying to remove the criminal background check portion of the tenant screening process in order to give people with a criminal past a second chance.  It has been shown that many individuals with a criminal history find it very difficult to reintegrate into society and are left with few options once released.  It is also clear that if these ex-offenders cannot find reasonable housing the chances of recidivism increases.

The new changes by HUD will have a broad impact on the housing market and will force landlords and property managers to update their tenant screening policies to reflect the new guidance.  They will have to become compliant with these new requirements and will have to bypass the criminal history screening portion of their application process.  This is why it is a good idea for landlords and property managers to utilize a professional third party tenant screening company to help them remain compliant with all rules and regulations regarding the tenant screening process within the apartment rental and multi-family industry.

To learn more about the new HUD Guidance and how finding decent housing for minorities and previous criminal offenders is a big challenge in the USA and why removing the criminal background check portion of the tenant screening process can affect these individuals read recent TenantScreeningUSA.com press release.

Recently Washington State legislation moved to reform housing policy which would include a universal renter application background screening form.  They also moved to clearly define how evictions and potential evictions are noted.  These actions could be a step toward broader changes across the country in regards to apartment rental practices.  They also indicate the continual change in the laws governing tenant screening.

Annually cities, states and sometimes the federal government change laws governing tenant screening and further define the legal and lawful use of public records and consumer reports used in tenant background checks.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) over the last several years has been bringing lawsuits to companies regarding their use of criminal background records in the employment screening process, particularly in the pre-employment screening process.  These actions could be interpreted as a precursor of new actions by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).  Changes in the employment screening arena are now crossing over into the tenant screening arena as clearly shown by recent legislative moves such as that by Washington State.

Actions by the State of Washington show a greater interest in the tenant screening process.  Combined with the federal activities by HUD one gets the sense that change will continue to affect the tenant screening process.  Just as change continues with pre-employment screening change remains inevitable with tenant screening.  Recent actions by HUD have already eliminated the use of criminal records, sometimes referred to as criminal histories, as a part of the vetting process for public housing.  Often times actions such as these enacted by HUD migrate into the private sector.

The new Washington State bill if passed would allow courts to keep reporting agencies from disclosing evictions that were never completed or found to be unsubstantiated or without cause.

With all the changes and potential changes occurring in the apartment rental industry along with what tenant screening process is acceptable it is highly recommended that apartment owners, landlords and property managers utilize the background screening services offered by professional third party tenant screening companies.  A tenant screening company keeps up with the laws in their industry and can help landlords stay compliant with all rules and regulations governing the tenant screening industry.

To learn more about the recent legislative moves by the State of Washington and their action to reform housing policy, as well as other factors pointing towards more legal action to come across the country to further define and recreate national housing policies read recent TenantScreeningUSA.com press release.

The housing market continues to heat up and now is the time to expand tenant screening to co-ops and housing sharing.  Conducting thorough tenant background checks on rentals and joint ownership property is a valuable tool in protecting people and property.  As the housing market continues to explode into 2016 it is getting increasingly difficult for business professionals and others to find acceptable housing accommodations that fit within their budget.

Enter co-ops and housing sharing…  Soaring housing costs have affected many regions of the country but none more than in California’s Bay Area which includes Silicon Valley.  The median monthly rent for a one bedroom apartment in this area is $2,695 way above most people’s budget.  So co-living arrangements have emerged from getting apartment roommates to sharing single family homes to living in a housing cooperative.  The housing shortage has made it difficult for even well paid professionals to afford decent living conditions.

In these parts of the country where these alternative living arrangements are being made, it is important that even these individuals undergo a thorough tenant screening process.  This is an often overlooked rental populace as these living situations are not your typical main stream rental relationship.  Instead these type of renters often go under the radar and could potentially cause harm to person and property.

As with traditional landlord/renter relationships, co-op and roommates should use a tenant screening company to properly vet potential tenants before a lease or living arrangement agreement is made.  The tenant background checks should include criminal background checks, sex offender checks and reference checks including employment references and personal references.  By conducting these checks the risks involved with co-habitation become much lower and aid in the protection of people and property.

To learn more about co-ops, housing sharing and other alternative living arrangements in a hot rental market and why tenant background checks should not be overlooked read recent TenantScreeningUSA.com press release.

Good tenants are essential for landlords and apartment managers to maintain a profitable rental business.  Good tenants offer protection to the property, are good neighbors and provide predictable income.  In this era where rental properties are at a premium some may think that gaining a new tenant would be fairly easy.  However, finding a tenant to occupy a vacant unit is one thing but to get a great tenant a landlord first needs to perform a thorough tenant screening.  Screening new tenants should include public record checks, credit checks, verifications, reference checks and an interview before making a leasing decision.  This may seem like a lot of work but a professional third party tenant screening company can easily help a landlord or property manager perform almost all of these tasks.

Having a face to face interview with prospective tenants will reveal a lot of important information and then running the background checks will confirm whether or not this information is indeed accurate.

The costs involved to properly vet an applicant is minimal when compared to the costs of a bad tenant.  The more information a landlord or property manager has to assess a potential tenant’s riskiness the higher the chances are in making a wise leasing decision.  A wise leasing decision is one that will land a good tenant and predictable income with very low risk to property and the community.

Some States like Arizona have favorable landlord laws but even in States like this landlords need to follow and know the specific landlord/tenant provisions that cover security deposits, access to the property and notice when ending a renter’s tenancy…  Of course there are still federal laws that need to be followed such as fair housing laws and habitability.

Going the extra length when evaluating prospective tenants is certainly worth it and having an in-person interview is the best way to begin that process.  Following the interview a comprehensive tenant background check should be conducted to reveal all pertinent information.  If the reference checks, verifications, criminal background check and credit check do not match up with the information revealed in the initial interview than the applicant may be dishonest or at least inconsistent.  In this instance signing a lease at this point would be too big of a risk to take.

To learn more about how having a thorough tenant screening process helps gain high quality tenants please read recent TenantScreeningUSA.com press release.

Housing sex offenders and parolees can cause significant concern for the communities they end up living in.  According to truth-out.org advocates are organizing against what they say is an overlooked civil rights issue; the exclusion of ex-offenders, overwhelmingly people of color, from public and subsidized housing.  Many subsidized housing providers employ lifetime bans against people with criminal background records, despite a stated commitment to “second chances” by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).  We have seen the spread of ban-the-box legislation across the country tackling the civil rights of past offenders and giving them a second chance by eliminating the “do you have a criminal record” question from job applications.  Now the focus is moving towards housing and particularly housing for parolees and sex offenders.  Many communities do not want these people in their neighborhood, but the truth is they need to live somewhere.

Most sex offenders have to live by very strict rules such as not being able to live close to schools, parks and other places where children are present.  In some cases predator free zones put an entire town or county off limits, sometimes for life even for those whose offenses had nothing to do with children.  Sometimes a State will mandate a location and actually rent out a place to live on behalf of the parolee.  In a case like this there is no tenant screening performed as the State rents out the apartment or house.

In Ionia, MI an arrangement was made with a tier 3 sex offender and another former prisoner for housing as they would have been homeless coming out of prison.  According to the sentinel-standard.com this situation came with great concern from residents in the community.  It was the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) who rented the building for the ex-cons.  Mayor Daniel Balice said there was nothing the city council could do to prevent the owner of the house from renting to the MDOC.  He asked Ionia Department of Public Safety (IDPS) Director Troy Thomas if the house was being monitored and Thomas said the IDPS is aware of the situation.

Second chances are important and in order to have a real opportunity at a crime free life the ex-offender will need a place to live and the chance to find a decent job.  With the civil rights of these people in the spotlight it still makes sense for landlords and property managers to conduct tenant background checks especially in areas where other tenants have children or where community members won’t tolerate past criminal offenders living in their neighborhood.

There needs to be some kind of compromise between ex-offenders and the greater public.  Certainly HUD and the Federal Government need to create a housing and employment system that allows ex-cons a real opportunity to be productive and be positive contributors to society, and a second chance at a crime free life.  This of course has to be balanced with the safety of the community at large and must protect at-risk populations like children and the elderly.

To learn more about the challenges for parolees, sex offenders and the communities they live in, along with how this effects civil rights please read recent TenantScreeningUSA.com press release.

In recent history in the State of California primarily in San Francisco and Los Angeles the rental market continues to heat up and subsequently has increased the value of properties including apartments spiking rental unit lease amounts.  Typically landlords want good long term tenants that create predictable rental income, however keeping long term tenants usually means keeping rental amounts around the same price.  For this reason many apartment property owners and landlords are evicting tenants in order to get new tenants willing to pay much higher rental prices.  The two principal methods used to get rid of these tenants is through Ellis Act Evictions and Gotcha Evictions.  The California Ellis Act is decades old and allows landlords to evict tenants to demolish units or convert them into condos.  The Gotcha Eviction is a category of breach of contract or nuisance eviction.  This eviction type has doubled since 2011 when the real estate market started to take off.  According to the San Francisco Rent Board’s Annual Eviction Report there were 2,120 notices of evictions filed for the year ending in February 28, 2015.  This is a 54.7% increase over five years ago.  The number of evictions targeting tenants accused of violating their lease or causing a nuisance doubled since 2010.  This has created a battle between tenants and landlords over the fair and legal use of evictions.

In the midst of the rental market challenges it is still paramount that landlords and property managers use professional third party tenant screening companies to properly vet all potential tenants.  Just because new tenants fiscally appear to be able to afford the higher rents they may have other rejectionable offenses like a past eviction or criminal history record.  As the appeal of charging higher rent amounts during the rental market boom increases so does the temptation of quickly signing a lease with a tenant or tenants without properly vetting them first.  Income alone is not enough to make an informed leasing decision, other tenant background reports need also be considered including a sex offender check, past evictions and of course criminal history.

The current challenges that landlords and renters are facing in California is not going away and new legislation is being considered.  Tenants want more rights and don’t want to be forced from their home while owners and landlords want to maximize their rental profits.  Surely the California rental market will need to balance the rights of tenants with the fiscal ambitions of landlords.

To learn more about the Ellis Act Evictions and Gotcha Evictions being used in California along with the rapid rental market changes occurring there please read recent TenantScreeningUSA.com press release. 

For many reasons the summer time is prime time for relocation and landlords and property managers need to be ready. One huge way to speed up the tenant selection process is to have an online tenant screening provider already set up. Tenant background checks can now be performed online and return of information is very quick. Most background reports like credit history, criminal history and eviction records can all be conducted online through a professional third party tenant screening company. Additionally these reports can be accessed almost immediately giving the landlord and/or property manager all the information they need to make a leasing decision all within minutes.

Currently some parts of the country like Seattle are experiencing very low vacancy rates and new apartments are filled just as quickly as they are built. However, just because demand is high for apartments in a certain region of the USA doesn’t mean that landlords should just focus on occupancy. What they should be focusing on is getting and keeping long-term renters. Long term renters provide predictable income for the owner and typically these kind of renters also keep their apartment clean and in good condition.

During this time of the year it is very important that apartment owners and managers invest in their properties appearance. Keeping a property in top shape and well maintained will draw in those potential long-term renters and help keep existing tenants satisfied with their home.

When speed to approval is crucial to avoid a potentially great tenant from checking out the competition, speed to approval becomes paramount. And it is achievable now that online tenant screening companies can deliver all the necessary background reports on a potential tenant in minutes. Key elements to modern tenant screening are: immediate access to critical reports, pay as you go, prompt search results, choice of who pays (renter or landlord), and a single recommendation for a group of renters. To learn more about gearing up for the summer migration and the challenges landlords face along with how modern online tenant screening helps aid the speed of the vetting process please read recent TenantScreeningUSA.com press release.

Landlords and property managers can make their jobs much easier by utilizing a professional third party tenant screening company to pull background reports on leasing applicants. It is enough that a landlord must deal with repairs and disputes arising from their apartment units and renters. A wise choice by landlords would be to utilize a tenant screening company to perform thorough tenant background checks on potential renters that include tenant criminal history checks, a sex offender registry search and previous eviction check. These reports in addition to a credit check, employment verification and personal reference check paint a very good portrait at the type of tenant a potential candidate would be. Skipping this step in the application process could result in signing a lease with a bad tenant. A bad tenant can damage the apartment, not pay the rent and become a problem for the rental community they live in. These type of tenants can eventually be evicted, but the eviction process takes time, is a headache and cost money.

Proper tenant screening practices is the best way to avoid this kind of situation all together. Landlords and property managers utilizing professional third party tenant screening companies greatly reduce the risk of signing a lease with a bad tenant. These companies also help keep landlords up to date on the proper use of tenant background checks and even generate the necessary documentation such as adverse action letters to those applicants denied rental due to a background record found on them in the tenant screening process. To learn more about the challenges of landlords and how a professional third party tenant screening company can help them avoid bad tenants please read recent TenantScreeningUSA.com press release.

Recent attacks by contractors coming into the home show how important it is to perform thorough background checks on contractors. Often in-home contractors are over looked and no background check at all is performed on this person who gets access to your home to fix the cable or perform electrical work etc… The list goes on and on. The landlord or property owner should thoroughly background check any contractor coming into a tenant’s apartment. It is also the responsibility of the tenant to inquire to the landlord or owner that they do not want contractors in their home unless they have passed a proper background screening. Whether the landlord uses their own maintenance people or outside contractors it is crucial that these individuals have been properly vetted prior to entry.

Recently in St. Louis, Missouri a woman was sexually assaulted by a cable repairman. The woman is suing three companies and claiming the crime could have been prevented if better background checks had been performed. The StLouisToday.com stated that no previous employers or personal references were performed and that the criminal background check was inadequate. At a minimum a contractor background check should include a thorough criminal background check, sex offender registry search and social security number validation with address history trace.

Another recent case from Franklin, NY has a woman claiming theft by a contractor. Thousands of dollars in stolen jewelry was taken while workers were in her home. She then found out that the contractor/employee had a rapsheet going back ten years which included such offenses as theft, drugs and resisting arrest. In this case the owner admitted to performing a background check and still hired the thief anyway.

It is very important to properly background check any person given access to a tenant’s apartment and this onus falls on the landlord/property owner. However it is important to note that the tenant should insist to the landlord or owner that they want to make sure anyone including contractors entering their home have passed a reliable and proper background check. To learn more about background checks on contractors entering rental properties please read recent TenantScreeningUSA.com press release

The tenant screening process can be a complex task that requires multiple public and private records along with reference checks. The task of pulling these reports coupled with the task of evaluating them can be complex and cumbersome. However, modern day third party tenant screening companies make this process a whole lot easier. In one Internet query a landlord or property manager can request all these background checks with one click of a mouse.

A landlord when evaluating a potential tenant is looking for financial ability to pay the rent, previous rental history and previous legal history. The three background reports necessary to evaluate this criteria are credit checks, eviction checks and criminal background checks. A thorough tenant background check should include all three of these reports as well as rental history verification from a previous landlord and personal references to check character.

Using a modern third party tenant screening provider makes the task of vetting potential tenants very easy. However, it still is a complex process and with laws changing on the proper use of criminal history checks in background screening it gets even more complicated. Currently there are 16 States that have enacted ban-the-box legislation effectively removing the check box that asks the job applicant if they have ever been convicted of a crime. With ban-the-box legislation sweeping across the country and with the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) enforcing laws against discrimination, it is only a matter of time when the use of criminal histories in the tenant screening process will be scrutinized. That is why landlords and property managers should team up with a third party tenant screening company to help them get all the information they need to make an informed leasing decision and also to get information on laws that govern the background screening industry to help keep them compliant. To learn more about how tenant screening is both complex and yet infinitely easy please read recent TenantScreeningUSA.com press release.