Do you rent to Lawyers?

[Anthony R.]

So let me preface this with, I go waaaaaaay out of my way to provide the best life and apartments I can for my tenants. I would argue that any property owner, regardless how big or small they are, could compete with the level of care I give my tenants.

I follow the laws and go well beyond what my responsibilities are as a landlord, mainly because, I love taking care of people and making their lives better while they’re in my buildings.

Alright, that all said, I have to know. Has anyone else actively refused to rent to a lawyer?

I’ve had more than one lawyer come to me to rent. Now luckily other qualified tenants appeared before them and I had valid options before they came along, so I was never put in a position to deny them solely on their profession. HOWEVER, I’d be lying if I said I wanted to rent to them. I've had my fair share of time dealing with people in the legal system as I was a MP in the Army for some years. I don't want to get into a legal pissing contest with a tenant so I'd prefer not rent to someone who's dangerous. 

I did about 10 seconds of research to find out if this was legal or not before I posted this so know it is legal to deny someone based on their profession (with the exceptions listed in the post) https://law.stackexchange.com/questions/27550/discriminate-based-on-current-profession/27551#27551

[Nathan Gesner]

@Anthony R. I do not rent to attorneys. They are not a protected class so there is no legal risk of denying them outright. You can do the same for people with facial tattoos, smokers, people that drive a Miata, and professional clowns.

I have had terrible experience with attorneys, as renters and Landlords. The last attorney to rent from me was always late with rent and extremely arrogant about it. I filed at least six 3-day Notices on him and started the eviction four months in a row. Each time, he paid the rent right before the court date and then did it again the next month. He also sent me a two-page document full of legalese, arguing that I had no authority to collect rent. I sent him a two-line response that basically said he signed a contract and would abide by it or he could choose to impress the judge with his $5 legal jargon. 

I have my issues documented. If another attorney comes along, I will probably deny them. If they demand to know why, I'm happy to show documentation of the troubles I've had.