(Newswire.net — January 24, 2023) — As a landlord, it’s important to be aware of the questions you can and cannot ask potential tenants. Knowing this information can help protect you from being accused of discrimination. It also helps ensure that your tenant screening process is fair for all applicants. Let’s take a look at some of the questions you should avoid asking in order to screen potential tenants fairly and responsibly.
Questions About Age
It’s illegal to discriminate against someone based on their age. This means you can’t ask an applicant how old they are or when they were born. You also can’t make assumptions about their age based on the way they look or dress. Additionally, you cannot ask if they have children or grandchildren, as this could lead to assumptions about their age as well.
Questions About Income
Income is another area where landlords must be careful with their questions. As a landlord, it is important that you ensure the tenant which is looking for apartments for rent can pay the rent they are promising. But it’s illegal to discriminate against someone because of their income level or a tenant’s source of income. For example, asking if a tenant is receiving public assistance or food stamps should be avoided. A better way to determine if tenants can fulfill their financial obligations is to request documentation from their employer confirming their income. Keeping this in mind will help you verify a prospective tenant’s ability to pay the rent stipulated in the lease.
Questions About Nationality
It is essential to bear in mind that rental application questions regarding nationality are heavily regulated. Nationality holds significance just like race and, similar to the latter, landlords are not lawfully allowed to inquire about an individual’s nationality on applications. Violations of Federal Housing Administration regulations can result in substantial consequences—from hefty fines and compensatory damages to the legal fees associated with them. By familiarizing oneself with applicable fair housing laws, landlords can ensure that their practices remain compliant.
Questions About Religion Religion is another area where landlords must be very careful with their questions during the tenant screening process. You should never ask a potential tenant what religion they practice, nor should you make assumptions based on a person’s name or appearance. This type of question could potentially put both parties in an uncomfortable situation and could lead to accusations of discrimination in the future.
Questions About Sexual Orientation
Asking tenants questions about their sexual orientation has no foothold in the realm of legitimate apartment applications. It is unnecessary information that could be used as a form of discrimination—something that countless states and cities recognize and work to prevent through protective laws. This line of inquiry has absolutely no bearing on whether or not someone would make a responsible tenant, so don’t even think about slipping it into your application process. Respect for tenants’ privacy should always come first when designing rental agreements, and this includes respecting their right to not reveal private matters, such as sexuality.
Questions About Arrests and Convictions
The majority of landlords believe it’s reasonable to ask a potential tenant about their past with the law, and while doing so is within their rights, the responses to all questions should be considered carefully. After all, it’s not uncommon for arrests to be made yet no convictions follow. Denying a potential tenant based solely on an arrest could lead to missed out opportunities and potentially overlooking good tenants. By focusing instead on only convictions, landlords can ensure they’re quickly and accurately assessing an applicant’s background without misusing any information that comes along during the screening process.
Questions About Physical or Mental Disabilities
Landlords must be very careful not to ask questions about physical or mental disabilities during the tenant screening process. Even a seemingly harmless question, such as whether an applicant has a service animal, can lead to legal trouble. Still, if an applicant with a service animal meets all other requirements, they may still be eligible to secure residency in the landlord’s property and the landlord must provide reasonable accommodations for the animal accordingly.
Conclusion
When screening potential tenants for your rental property, it’s important to avoid certain types of questions that could potentially lead to discrimination allegations later on down the road. Questions regarding age, income level, and religion should all be avoided during the screening process since these topics are highly sensitive and could result in legal issues if handled improperly. By avoiding these types of inquiries altogether, landlords can ensure that the application process is fair for all involved parties and that any decisions made are based solely on qualifications rather than personal characteristics or beliefs.