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You want your property filled as soon as possible because each day it remains vacant, you lose money. However, you don't want to approve just any tenant; you want optimal tenants who are reliable and will take care of the property.
Here's a quick checklist to help improve your tenant screening process to get your property filled quicker. Read on to learn what to look for when screening potential tenants.
The Fair Housing Act
Over the years, the government has established various pieces of legislation to help prevent discrimination in the housing market. In particular, the Fair Housing Act of 1968 set a precedent for banning discrimination in housing based on:
- race or color
- religion
- sex
- national origin
- familial status
- disability
As a landlord, you cannot screen tenants and reject them on any of these qualities, or that would constitute illegal discrimination. However, that does not mean that you cannot have your list of criteria for tenants you are open to renting your property to.
For example, it is okay to have income criteria to ensure that your potential tenant has sufficient income to afford rent. It is also okay to have certain criteria like no smoking in the house or no pets. It is a valid preference and criteria in tenant screening, and it does not violate fair housing laws.
If you choose to pursue tenant screening on your own, you must become familiar with these regulations to ensure that your tenant screening process does not violate federal or local housing laws. Read here for more prohibited situations in the process of renting out your property.
The Essential Tenant Screening Checklist
Tenant screening may be tedious but it is essential if you want to place a reliable tenant in your property. Here are the essential actions to take during the tenant screening process.
Rental Application
Interested tenants should submit a rental application to express their interest in your property.
Beyond that, rental applications are useful in asking for signed consent to run background checks. In Hawaii, you must have the applicants' written consent in the form of a signature, to run a background check.
Credit and Background Check
Hawaii has no limit for application fees landlords wish to charge applicants. You can use this fee to cover credit and background checks on applicants.
Employer Check
It's a good idea to confirm that your applicant works for the employer that they say they work for. Stable employment is a good sign of a reliable tenant.
Prior Landlord Reference
To top off the cake, give their old landlord a call to check that there aren't any red flags you need to look for. An old landlord can give you a better idea of their character, their rent payment habits, how they treated the property, and more.
Delegate Your Tenant Screening Process
You can do tenant screening on your own and place a reliable tenant in your property with careful screening. However, you can also delegate the task and hire an expert property management company like us, to take care of this entire process for you.
Not only are we familiar with local and federal housing laws, but we also know how the ins and outs of the entire tenant screening process. That's how we've helped many happy clients place quality tenants in their properties.
If you're ready to get started filling your property, contact us today!