Finding great tenants can sometimes be very challenging,
especially with apartment vacancies reaching record highs. But just because Depression 2.0 is making leasing difficult, it does not mean that we, as property managers do not have a fiduciary duty to protect our clients from dead-beat and/or potentially dangerous tenants. Diligent tenant screening is important and we must, however, keep in mind that when we do decide to eliminate prospects that we take care not to violate the Fair Housing Act. For anyone not familiar with this Act, here
is a quick snapshot.
What is prohibited in the sale and rental of Fair Housing?
No one may take any of the following actions based on race,
color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, or handicap
(disability):
a) Refuse
to rent or sell housing
b) Refuse
to negotiate for housing
c) Make
housing unavailable
d) Deny
a dwelling
e) Set
different terms, conditions, or privileges for sale or rental of a dwelling
f)
Provide different housing services or facilities
g) Falsely
deny that housing is available for inspection, sale or rental
h) For
profit, persuade owners to sell or rent (blockbusting)
i)
Deny anyone access to or membership in a facility or
service (such as multiple listing service) related to the sale or rental of
housing.
The Fair Housing Act is setup in an effort to help deter Landlord discrimination against prospects on a personal level. When screening tenant-prospects, make sure if a prospect is going to be rejected from renting space at your place, it has to be because that person could adversely affect your profit and/or safety as a landlord.