Screening vs. discrimination

[Lucas Amuchastegui]

Hi All,

I'm working on a new construction, which will be my first rental property. I'm starting to think ahead about the advertising and screening process and had a few questions. Obviously, you can't discriminate against protected classes, but how would a tenant claim that you denied them based on, say, familial status rather than the fact that you just didn't like them, or they seemed messy, or whatever?

I'm in Southern Oregon, and I have a friend in Portland, who says that up there, you have to accept the first applicant who meets your formal criteria. That means that they can't deny an applicant because he seems like a jerk as long as he meets the criteria that the landlord set out when he started the screening process (credit score, income, job stability, etc.). Does that sound right? Has anyone heard of a legal precedent like that? 

Thanks so much!

Luke