What is the purpose of a renter resume? Shouldn’t a landlord require an interested person to fill out an application?
A renter resume is a personal marketing tool used by applicant to showcase the prospective applicant’s rental qualifications. The resume provides key details of the potential tenant’s previous rental history, background history, and references. A renter resume targets rental qualifications in a similar manner as an employment resume targets a job applicant’s skills and abilities. By preparing a renter resume the would-be tenant is hoping to attract interest in his qualifications and thus stand out among other rental prospects. Using a summary description of rental history and providing background information, the prospective tenant hopes to advance more quickly to the next level of screening and selection. Renter resumes could be beneficial to prospective tenants in competitive rental markets.
However, a renter resume does not take the place of the landlord’s rental application. A landlord should always require an applicant to complete the landlord’s standard rental qualification and selection process, including rental application, identity verification, applicant interview, credit report, background check, various screening verifications for employment, income, rental history, public records, and former landlord reference checks.
Regardless of how well-qualified the applicant seems to be, how well an applicant presents himself, or how urgent the need to fill the vacancy, a landlord should not deviate from his rental standards. The vacancy should never be filled with an applicant who has not been tenant screened and has satisfactorily met the landlord’s rental criteria.
The most efficient means to obtain information needed to adequately screen an applicant while safeguarding the business income property and the safety of others is the use of the application form. As a general rule, a landlord can request any information that would objectively point to the applicant’s ability to pay timely rent and comply with lease terms and conditions. The information requested on the application form should be business related to the qualifying of an applicant for rental housing. The same information should be requested of every applicant, the same screenings conducted on every applicant, and the same analysis performed on screening reports of every applicant. There can be no selectivity or preferential treatment of one applicant over another.
The application form is a risk assessment tool to collect as much relevant information about an applicant within the parameters of permissible purpose, business necessity, and legal rights. When properly conducted and documented, the application process can reduce the risk of claims of discrimination in screening and selection of applicants. The signed rental application and the tenant screening results support the landlord’s decision to offer tenancy to the selected applicant.