Tenant accusing me discriminate them

[Tony Huynh]

We have been rented out without really doing any professional background checks until I read Brandon's book and understood how important it is to background check a tenant professionally. 

Problems arose when the new tenant said that the current tenant (who is his friend) did not have to go through a background check but why did we have him go through a background check? The new tenant accused me of discriminating against him somehow but I did explain that this is our new policy that we starting to apply and it does not have any personal against him. 

Should I be worried about this issue or is the new tenant just sensitive? 

[Carl Millsap]

@Tony Huynh I'm not a lawyer but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express....I would simply document your policy change and ensure every tenant from this point forward goes through the same process until you find you need to improve the process. 

1. Write down your screening criteria. Ensure it complies with ALL laws. You can check with local PM companies to see what criteria they use. Consult a laawyer if necessary to ensure your criteria is legal.

2. Whenever you have someone inquire ensure you tell them the criteria, then follow and enforce it.

As for this tenant you've already explained why you did the background check; document the conversation and leave it alone. There is no need to try and convince him that  didn't discriminate against him. 

You had a policy change before he applied that's it. Businesses change policies all the time, you run a business and you're allowed to improve your processes.