What are some common questions/answers that might indicate a potential problem?
Beginning with the pre-screening of an interested prospect, there are a few must-ask questions that can help determine the prospect’s ability to qualify for tenancy. The responses to the questions should be carefully evaluated for potential red flag issues.
Some commonly asked questions are:
“When do you plan to move?”
Typically a landlord’s lease agreement requires a minimum of 30 days’ notice of tenant move-out. A response that the prospect wants to move in immediately or within a period less than 30 days could signal a problem for any number of reasons. Moving on short notice could be as a result of employment relocation or family matters but could also be a result of poor planning by the tenant. Red flags suggest pending eviction, past due rents or other lease violations requiring cure or quit notices. A response that the prospect is considering a timeframe greater than 90 days or is vague in nature may indicate the person is just looking and may not be serious about an actual move in the near future.
“Why are you moving?”
A landlord can learn a lot from the prospect’s response to this question. Typical responses are to get more/less space, be closer to work or school, live in a better neighborhood, a job relocation, family responsibilities, more affordable housing, traffic or noise issues. Red flags are evasive answers or vague reasons that suggest eviction, past due rents, lease violations, trouble with neighbors, problems with the landlord, or domestic problems. One or more of these issues could be reasons that the prospect must move. If the prospect has a long list of complaints about his current landlord and neighbors, his response is a definite red flag to future landlords.
“How many people will be living in the rental property?”
Landlords set occupancy limits based on regulations and codes set by local building, structural, health, and safety standards as well as limitations set by size and mechanical/system/utility constraints. A maximum number of occupants for square footage space may be specified by local ordinances. Red flags would be the number of potential occupants that exceeds recommended standards or an uncertainty of the number of occupants. Each adult occupant should be required to sign a lease agreement. An applicant who refuses to complete an application form, agree to screening or, sign the lease agreement may have previous problems rental history problems and/or indicate something else to hide.
“Will you have any problems completing the standard application process?
The landlord should explain to interested prospects the application and screening process that includes personal interviews, written application, background screenings, and landlord conducted verifications for identity, employment, income-to-rent ratios, rental housing history, and references.
“Our monthly gross income rental standard is three times the monthly rent. The monthly rent for this unit is XXX. Will you be able to meet this standard?”
While the vacancy listing should state the monthly rent amount for the unit, potential tenants may forget such details when they respond to an ad. By reminding them of the rental policy for income qualification, and the monthly rent amount, a landlord can obtain information that allows the potential tenant to self-qualify himself for consideration. Current rental market studies show that in some areas the rent amount can be as much as half the applicant/tenant’s monthly income. While a potential tenant may have the funds to move in, there could be issues during the tenancy regarding full and timely payments of rents.
“Can you provide employment references and proof of income?”
A landlord must determine to the best of his ability that the prospect can prove a steady source of income and sufficient income to pay his rent. Most income sources are wages paid by an employer. Red flags are admissions that the prospect is currently out of work but expects to have a job soon, or that the prospect has held a number of jobs in relatively short time or appears to change jobs or types of jobs frequently. If the prospect works for cash, there could be a number of issues that should be explored.
“Can you provide previous landlord references?”
A landlord should require an applicant to provide rental housing history previous to his current landlord. The history including former landlord contact information could be requested for a certain time period, such as the last 3 to 5 years. Reference checking with previous landlords is an important part of tenant screening. The landlord will want to find out how the former tenant paid his rent and generally performed according to the lease agreement. Did the tenant give proper notice for move out? Was the security deposit returned in full or was there damage to the rental unit?
If a prospect cannot supply satisfactory previous landlord references, it can signal problems. If a prospect asks that his current landlord not be contacted, it could be a red flag for lease violations, past due rents, pending evictions, etc. A landlord wants his new tenant to be a good neighbor and respect the rental property. If the prospect’s behavior indicates he cannot follow the landlord’s rules or that he may be a threat to people and property, a landlord should decline to continue the application process. It is usually a good idea to verify ownership of the building or name of a legitimate management company rather accept the word of a person answering phone number provided by the applicant. False references are grounds for rejecting the applicant.
“This is a smoke-free property. Is that a problem?” Or “We have a no-pets policy. Is that a problem?”
A lease agreement is a legal contract with obligations and duties set out by law and the landlord’s business policies. Landlord policies, the rent rules, are a condition of tenancy. It is the landlord’s duty to enforce his policies. In the sample questions above, if the landlord discovers that the tenant is keeping a pet even temporarily as a favor for a friend or that secondhand smoke from the tenant’s unit is drifting into the neighboring unit causing the neighbor to complain, the landlord should enforce his policies by issuing a notice to the tenant to cure the lease violation or quit the tenancy.
“How long do you plan to rent?”
Most landlords are looking for a stable, long-term tenancy, typically a one-year lease agreement to start with. A response that indicates that the prospect will give notice as soon as he buys a house is not favorable to the landlord’s interests. Many landlords do offer month-to-month rentals, shorter-term lease agreements, or are willing to structure a lease to coincide with a school term. A red flag response such as “it depends” would indicate a prospect isn’t committed to a firm decision for moving or he has other issues the prospect is unwilling to share with the landlord. If a prospect indicates he moves around a lot, the frequency of moves and the how long each tenancy lasted are issues that require further discussion.
QUESTION:
What should I do if something seems off?
ANSWER:
There could be any number of possible negative findings as screenings are conducted. A landlord may require further investigation of issues and discussions with the applicant before making a rental decision to proceed or decline with the application process. There can be no selectivity or preferential treatment of one applicant over another.
An expressed reluctance by the applicant to disclose personally identifying information particularly a Social Security number is not an uncommon issue. The potential threat of identity theft is a concern that can be addressed by an explanation of the landlord’s business necessity to adequately screen applicants and protect the existing residents and his policies and procedures to protect all tenants’ privacy and security rights.
However if the applicant fails to properly complete the application form, such as leaving blank spaces or if information is later found to be false or misleading, a landlord should take appropriate action for further discussion and evaluation before making a final determination.