What reason is ok to use to refuse tenant in renting? (Is misdemeanor a good reason?)

[Mary Jay]

Hi guys,

What reason is ok to use to refuse tenant in renting? (Is misdemeanor a good reason?)

State Florida...

[Tim Baldwin]

Depends. The reason must be base on an objective, non-discriminatory selection criteria. Persons with a criminal record are not a protected class. However, under the "Disparate Impact" legal theory, fair housing issues arise when denying persons with a criminal record involving non-serious offenses and offenses that are remote in time. 

A misdemeanor may be sufficient to deny application if the conviction was recent and didn't involve a more serious crime, such as battery or intentional property damage. But if the conviction is remote in time (e.g. over 3 years ago) and didn't involve intentional property damage or bodily harm, perhaps the conviction is not sufficient cause. 

You can read up on "Disparate Impact" Theory on a variety of landlord resource websites, including government agencies. 

Other reasons for denial involve other risk factors, such as, 

1. rental history and prior landlord verification 
2. credit score
3. employment history and verification
4. income v. rent ratio
etc. 

[Nathan Gesner]

Quote from @Mary Jay:

I disagree with blanket rejections. 

The point of screening an applicant is to determine the level of risk to your property, your income, and others. A felony conviction and ten years in prison sounds pretty bad, but were they guilty of embezzling money from their employer, or were they guilty of raping the next-door neighbor? Those present two very different levels of risk.

You should also consider how long ago the offense occurred and what the individual has done since then. If they spent ten years in prison for drug dealing, but have been out for ten years, have been sober, stayed employed, and paid their bills, there's really no risk associated with their criminal past.

[Charles Perkins]

Quote from @Nathan Gesner:

Quote from @Mary Jay:

I disagree with blanket rejections. 

The point of screening an applicant is to determine the level of risk to your property, your income, and others. A felony conviction and ten years in prison sounds pretty bad, but were they guilty of embezzling money from their employer, or were they guilty of raping the next-door neighbor? Those present two very different levels of risk.

You should also consider how long ago the offense occurred and what the individual has done since then. If they spent ten years in prison for drug dealing, but have been out for ten years, have been sober, stayed employed, and paid their bills, there's really no risk associated with their criminal past.

As we review screening criteria results we also like to create an overall risk assessment.  This makes more sense to us than relying strictly on  rigid yes or no criteria where any negative  disqualifies a candidate entirely.

Some criteria is weighted more heavily and can overcome negatives.  It can be quite subjective but based on our past experiences it has worked for us.

[Russell Brazil]

I think something like 40% of Americans have misdemeanors.

Some things that are misdemeanors

Speeding

Jaywalking

Open Container in public

Driving without a license

Excessive noise

Littering

Driving with expired tags

Using very low level misdemeanors to prove a point that these are all ridiculous reasons to deny a tenant.

[Mary Jay]

thank you guys soooo much!!!