Pregnant Applicant - Does she meet the income requirement?

[Garrett Brunell]

A recent pregnant women applied to rent a townhome of mine for a year lease. She meets the income requirement of 3x the monthly rent, however when she goes on maternity leave, I am not sure that she will. Can I legally ask her how much of her maternity leave will she be paid by her employer? Any advice will help!

[Jacqueline Carrington]

You cannot assume that someone will not be able to pay their rent because they'll be on maternity leave. You don't know what types of savings she may have to cover her leave or if she'll get short term disability which pays a percentage of her income during her leave.

If she is currently working and meets your income and other qualifications for renting, then you must approve her application.

If she does not CURRENTLY meet your application qualifications, then you can deny.