Should I accept or reject this Tenant (And why I should do that)?

[Bhanu P.]

I do have a response for one of my listing for lease. The interested person is ‘Single’ and work as club dancer (I do not have any details yet about the kind of club). She also have 2 pets (it doesn’t bother me and she agreed to pay $300 non-refundable pet fee – which is acceptable to collect in state of Texas as far as I know).

1. 1) She agreed for listed rent (I priced competitively and may be listed lower than market).
2. 2) She is ready to move in a week (most of the other leads I got are requesting June 1st week to be the move-in date).
3. 3) She is willing to pay 2 and half months security deposit and prorated rent at the time of move-in (I am in Texas and I am allowed to take this much security deposit).

This is no brainer if the potential tenant is having some traditional job but I am not sure on how I should proceed further on this. I never think about this sort of situation and I am not sure what I am entering in to. Obviously I have not checked the credit, criminal, background history yet but I will be doing it today if I like to go further with her. Assuming her results are acceptable, am I safe to have her as my tenant?

I got too many questions in my mind…

Should I accept this tenant or do I have to reject?

Since her job is ‘club dancer’ and not a regular job, should I worry or it should not be a matter to me as a landlord as long as she pays me rent on time?

Is there something that I should do to protect me from running in to any problems if I lease the property to her?

Please educate me by sharing your thoughts. Thanks in advance!!!

[Kimberly T.]

Originally posted by @Nicole Jones:

Well I don't think you should or can discriminate based on employment choice BUT some landlords do require a track-able source of income, meaning paystubs. Due to her being a dancer (really doesn't matter what club) she may not have paystubs. Who knows though. I'm not really sure how that works. If I was in the same situation what I might do, just to give myself some peace, is contact her employer and see how long she has been working at that club and if they foresee any problems with employment in the future. She has already given a hefty deposit and if need be it sounds like it will cover any expenses to evict if that becomes necessary. I think I would give her a chance. Dancers can make a decent living. I would also use my intuition if I were you. Sometimes your gut will tell you a lot more about the individual than dollars and/or what comes out of her mouth. See the feeling you get each time you are done meeting with her. Do you feel safe or does something not feel right? And definitely do a tenant history screening on her. See how she has been in previous renting situations. Hope this helps! Good Luck!     

You are allowed to discriminate based on an applicant's job (at least I've never heard of a place that has a law about that).  Place of employment or type of work is not a protected class anywhere that I've heard.  For example, some landlords refuse to rent to lawyers.