On the fence about the background check results

[Diana Johnson]

I got the results back from a tenant background check.  She is 28.  Credit is perfect, but she's got four criminal results.  2 are from 6 years ago (marijuana/traffic), 1 is four years ago for $1,000 of property destruction, and 1 was last year for an "infraction".  None of them led to conviction or even probation.  It appears all charges were dropped.  Also, I did meet/interview her face to face and she was lovely.  The results are bothering me, but it could be because I have a clean criminal record and I guess I expect others to be clean as well.  Honestly, I do feel like I'm being judgmental. My question is, regarding criminal background what's average for a good tenant?  

[Thomas S.]

Your responsibility as a landlord is to be judgemental. The purpose of screening is to find reasons to reject applicants not find reasons to accept.

You need to arrange a meeting with her if you are uncertain and put the question to her to explain her past infractions. She will most likely lie and if the lies are in the form of a sob story you can be certain she is not a good choice as a tenant. 

When I screen and come across info as you have found I automatically reject the application. I do not waste my time trying to figure it out or find reasons to accept any applicant that is questionable. I always figure if a person is honest they would have informed me of what I would find in advance of screening. She obviously knows her past will be a problem and was hoping you would not adequately screen to find it. Much easier and safer to reject than take a risk. One year is too recent to ignore a infraction.