Pre-Qualifications for the applicants

[Yulia Kaygorodtseva]

Hello, I wanted to hear your opinion on my preliminary qualifications below, even before I give them the Renter's Application to fill out:

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To qualify I have a min requirement of Household monthly income to be at least 3 times of rent. No section 8, no evictions, none smokers. Good references. I do a full background and credit check.

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thank you!

[Paul Ronto]

@Yulia Kaygorodtseva , I would be careful with the Section 8 language, it's not a federally protected class, but it can be a protected class in some states or city. Be careful in what you blatantly call out as a negative in your acceptance criteria and what you omit. 

If there is not a ban in your location you can decide to not accept people with Section 8 vouchers, but again if you clearly state that you will refuse applicants with Section 8 vouchers you could be inviting discrimination complaints based on other protected classes. 

As for smokers, some states actually have protections surrounding smoking laws, but as far as I know, those are mainly based on employment law not fair housing. To be safe double check your state and local laws regarding this. 

Good luck and let us know if you have any other screening questions, we're happy to help!