Rental Application Denial question

[Erin Hauser]

I have received 3 applications from a group wanting to rent a unit, however two stated they have bad credit and one has no credit. Can I deny them based on this information alone, or do I still have to have them to pay for the credit check? It's likely going to come back negative and I'll deny them, so shouldn't I save them the $25? My gut says not to rent to them regardless, but I haven't ever denied a rental app, so I'm not sure exactly what to tell them.

[Michele Fischer]

I have a one page scoring sheet.  The top half is scored before I do anything more than look at the completed application.  If they do not score enough points (or just blatantly miss a stated criteria, like no prior evictions) in that initial subtotal I do not move forward.

Use objective criteria, like how long they have held their job, % of rent to income, how long they have lived at past addresses, how long they intend to stay, stated criminal history, whether they provided bank accounts, etc to put a score to your hunches.

You can also drag your feet on denying, I normally wait until I have an applicant who has accepted to deny the rest of the applicants.  Put more effort into your most promising applications.  But you need to be able to measure why they are more promising.

I'm also a proponent of not charging screening fees.  It is less than a few hundred dollars per vacancy, and I feel like I have a lot more control over my process and I can have "squishier" stated criteria.  When you charge application fees most states require that you be pretty specific on your criteria so applicants don't waste money where they can't qualify.