Tenant Screening: I have criteria that I go by, need guidance on exceptions / gray

[Cali Skier]

Hi

We are screening tenants again. I go pretty much by the bigger pockets formula, some of my main instant declines are:

1. Gross less than 3x monthly rent
2. evictions, felonies
3. poor rental history
4. Dogs that my insurance does not cover

Ok, beyond that, things get gray for me…and I had a coach tell me this… “If you ever make an exception on one criterion, you must continue to make that exception from now on.   For example, if you want credit scores above 600 but you accept a 580 once, you can never in the future decline someone with a credit score between 580 and 600.

The gray areas…

1. I like a credit score above 600,
2. I like my tenants not to have bankruptcy
3. I like my tenants not to have a lot of debt (such that payments impact the Gross = 3X number)
4. I like my tenants to have a history of paying on time

Here is a scenario:  Tenant “X” gets past all the instant declines. Employed with the same company for 7 years, makes 4.7 times the rent, has a credit score of 580, and a bankruptcy that is over 3 years old, shows 0 late payments since bankruptcy.

If I accept this tenant, does it follow that forevermore I cannot decline someone solely on a less than 600 score? 

Reading a lot of posts on this forum it sounds like many of you look at the whole picture and it's not always black and white… To me the 580 and the bankruptcy are unacceptable at face value, however, the 7 years, the 4.7X, and 0 late payments since bankruptcy offset those blemishes.  

Would a cort of law find this acceptable?:  “Your honor, yes I accepted Tenant X with a 580 and a bankruptcy, but these other things offset that and I felt comfortable with the risk.  Tenant “Y” has a 590, 3.2X rent, but just started a new job a week before applying and I did not feel comfortable renting to them for that reason.   How do I know they aren’t going to be fired?"  

[Nathan Gesner]

Quote from @Cali Skier:

There is no law anywhere that says you have to apply all the rules the same. If you accept a 580 today or waive a late fee tomorrow, that does not mean you have to do it for the rest of your life.

The reason people say you should is because it avoids discrimination complaints. If you waive a late fee for a single man, but then refuse to waive a late fee for a single mother of three, she could claim that you discriminated against her because she is a single mother. Make sense?

There's nothing wrong with changing your criteria, as long as it is applied equally to everyone at that point. Once someone applies, stick to your criteria and update it the next time around.

If you don't want bankruptcy, make it a pass/fail on your screening process before you advertise the next vacancy.