Is a bad attitude enough to decline an application?

[Tom R.]

My tenant wants a roommate which is OK with me. She picked out someone and I sent him a request for a background and credit check via Cozy. 

He asked me to reimburse him the cost of the checks. I told him I wouldn't do that and that I was allowing my tenant to have a roommate at no extra charge which I did not have to do. (If i do this again I will raise the rent)

He sent me a screen capture of his credit report and claimed to have been a landlord for 30 years which I dont believe. I told him that while the credit report appears authentic almost anyone with a computer could fake a credit report and that the cozy reports are my way of verifying he qualifies for tenancy.

My tenant told me she would reimburse the charges and I relayed that to the applicant.

Then right before he sent in the application he sent me a link to some reviews of cozy and people saying they reimburse the fees to tenants and highlighted some of them saying

"I hope you will consider these reviews for your business? Hopefully you do not think these reviews below were easily made by anyone with basic computer skills?"

and

"In my opinion if I was a landlord again I would try to create a great relationship from the start by doing exactly what is highlighted above. After all once a tenant is accepted they are in your property and the more you have looking out for your back the better the whole rental and profit experience becomes. Clearly $40 bucks is a small amount to show your faith in a tenant? It would be for me I assure you. And I believe it is a deduction expense since it is inline with doing landlord business.

Regards Thomas’s comment that I simply fabricated my credit report is rude at best."

If I deny him simply because he is an ******* am I opening myself up to a lawsuit?

[Jim Shepard]

I would just decline him based on not filling out the credit report. He had his chance. If he can't follow rules before he is in your rental, he sure won't after he is in your rental. As a word of caution, since your complete name appears in a public forum (as mine does) be careful what you say. He could look it up on the internet.