Screening Tenants
As a landlord, the process of finding a good tenant is fairly simple. It’s important to screen prospective tenants thoroughly and thoughtfully, however, in order to avoid headaches during the tenancy and after.
When it comes to background checks on tenants, you have some options. You can perform a limited check yourself by seeking out available court records. These are available online for free in Wisconsin and Minnesota. These records will allow you to see if the prospective tenant has any outstanding judgments that would indicate the tenant may have trouble paying. Also included will be any evictions the prospective tenant may have on record. If you choose not to do this research yourself, there are services that will perform these searches for a fee.
Another information source is to contact references. I have heard of numerous problems stemming from a landlord not calling references. Taking the time to call them before taking on a renter is another way to prevent problems that from arising later on. You may get a sense of potential payment issues or other causes for concern.
There are a number of laws that govern tenant screening. From the Fair Credit Reporting Act, to Fair Housing Laws, to anti-discrimination laws, there are many traps for the unwary. Make sure your policies and procedures are in compliance with all the rules and regulations that govern your area. And as always, if you have further questions about these issues, give us a call!
Iowa, North Dakota, and other states have criminal and civil info online for free too. Some other states charge for this access, some don’t have it at all. Search (name of state) courts to find out. Also, some states like Illinois and Montana don’t have a statewide sites, but you can find records for some counties, like Cook County IL
I fully understand that there are laws and regulations out there that both tenant and landlord must abide by. I am a landlord and try very hard to make sure things are kept inline, etc. The issue that irks me is that there seems to be little protection for the landlord beyond basic screening procedures. I have screened people and have still been screwed over by them.. I can take them to court etc., but that costs more money and doesn’t guarantee I will be compensated as the tenant flees the situation any way they can. When will the law start acting like the law? Enough political BS, stand behind your word!!!
I’m a landlord and have now on two seperate occasions come across false information. I did my reference checks and varified rental history with past landlords of my tenants before renting. They seemed ok until i ended up evicting them. I later found out that the references were just friends and the landlords were phoney too. How do you protect yourself from that. Tons of damage and unpaid rent. They skipped town and I will never collect. Just putting it out there for other landlords, references are not always true.