Must you do a background/credit check?

Question

Must a landlord perform background/credit checks on prospective tenants?  I use the standard Texas Apartment Association application and on there it does ask about their background but I'm sure many people lie about it.  I guess I'm concerned about my liability if a background check is not done.

Marcia Maynard · Answer

Must you protect your investment?  Must you protect yourself from dangerous criminals, protect your property from damage, protect yourself from "professional tenants", protect your community from drug dealers and meth labs, protect your hard earned cash, protect yourself from liability suits, protect your family?  No.  But you would be foolish not to.

Let me tell you about the rapist that applied to rent one of our properties, was very charismatic, good looking and polite.  He lied during the screening interview and lied on his application. He didn't think I would do such a thorough background check.  His previous landlord hadn't bothered to.  I read the gruesome details of the police report... 24 year old guys luring 14 year old girls back to their apartment and gang raping them.  No thank you.  Not in my properties, not on my watch!

Due diligence and through background checks are a necessity in this business.

Lisa Wright · Answer

It's not so much something that you "must" do as it is something that you should do. You're protecting yourself from future headaches by weeding out potential risks. I run every would-be tenant through http://www.myrental.com, before giving them a follow-up interview before deciding if I want to rent to them.

Steve Babiak · Answer

Seriously, you've been at this for 45 years already without doing full background checks?  You should consider yourself lucky!  Maybe you should buy some Powerball tickets!

Steve Babiak · Answer

"Must" might be the case for some housing that is located within a community that has an association (HOA) that stipulates that you must. Otherwise there is no obligation to do so. But regardless, you SHOULD do the background checks. It might be more work up front but it will reduce your headaches as you move forward.

So maybe you should program your mind to believe you must ...

Gail K. · Answer

Even the IDEA that you require credit and criminal checks are good screening methods for applicants.  As previously mentioned, if one of the first things they ask is if you run a background check you can often write this person off your list as a potential tenant.

Gail

Joe Fairless · Answer

@James Erickson  Yes if you want to make money. Otherwise, you are increasing your risk of getting residents who won't pay rent and cost you money on more turnovers and evictions.

Lynn McGeein · Answer

And it seems like these "professional tenants" seek out owner-landlords versus property management companies as they know many individual landlords don't run the proper checks.  I can deal with the real idiots where the first question to me is, Do you run a background check?   The ones I'm most afraid of (and there are many) actually fill out the application and pay the fee and act like they'd be great tenants, but then you actually run the report and find current criminal history, judgments and evictions.  They count on you not actually running the report, and give a family member's number for old landlords so talking to the previous landlords may not help (although you can usually tell it's not the real landlord).

Kathleen Leary · Answer

You have no obligation at all to do any checking on prospective tenants. Actually, it would be great if you didn't - that way, you'll have all the deadbeats in YOUR rentals & the "fact checkers" won't!

James Erickson · Answer

We require that they fill in their rental history and job history, both of those are always checked.  Believe it or not it has worked out pretty well for the past 45 years!  I'm just concerned about liability if perhaps a tenant was a sex offender and we did not catch that due to not performing a background check.  The application does ask those questions and the tenant signs his name to it stating everything is true and correct.  Perhaps that would absolve you if a tenant lied about it and signed his name to the application?

Matt Devincenzo · Answer

MUST you, no there is no legal requirement to do one. SHOULD you, definitely otherwise how do you know who you're renting to.

Must you do a background/credit check?

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