How to tenant screen Immigrant Tenants with no U.S. ID

[Reid Hanley]

I have been receiving a lot of interest in some of my rental mobile homes from Hispanic people that have recently moved to the U.S. from various Latin American countries (Central America and Mexico mostly).  Most of these potential tenants have ID's issued from their native country, but very few have any form of ID that was issued here in the U.S.   I use Cozy currently, but without a SS# or a state issued ID, I don't expect to find much on them.  Are there any resources out there that could provide some screening of these persons for things like criminal records,...etc?  

[Account Closed]

Originally posted by @Nathan Gesner:

I think you're making a mistake. What if they trash the property and leave without paying rent? You have no ability to go after them or even ding their record. How do you even verify their identity to know who you are renting to? How do you check Landlord references, employment history, credit, criminal background, etc? It sounds as if you're not screening your tenants properly.

From a moral standpoint, you should screen all applicants the same. If you require a 27-year-old white woman with two children to show you a picture ID, then you should require the same for the latino man. If you screen the white woman's history to see if she's a drug dealer, then you should require the same for the latino man. The only way you can comply with Fair Housing and still rent to an undocumented person is to not screen anyone at all.

I would also argue that it's immoral for a citizen of this country to harbor an illegal immigrant that is unlikely to pay their share of taxes, takes jobs from citizens, and abuses our tax-funded roads, schools, hospitals, law enforcement, welfare, etc. According to left-leaning studies, illegal immigrants pay around $11 billion in taxes. That sounds like a lot, but it's probably less than $500 a year for the average illegal immigrant while the average citizen pays 10x that amount.

The "morality" argument is completely up for interpretation, and I interpret morality much differently.   This is painting with a really broad brush here, and its a mindset that I am thankful is dying out.   The words chosen in the last paragraph completely betray a mindset fouled up by Fox News and other angry propaganda, like a bunch of latino carpet installers are "abusing" roads and law enforcement and welfare by driving around and working. They get no tax benefits aside from the same benefits they'd get if they were visiting (eg being allowed to drive around and be protected from violence and crime.. )  Unfortunately I don't have the persuasive skills to make anyone consider the more nuanced reality of this situation and to see them as ordinary people (who in turn can be completely ordinary tenants), I am just writing this to note that not every hardened old landlord thinks this way, and I think its shameful and sad.   I'm always bummed when I see this sort of speech from otherwise respectable businessmen.

However --- the business risks are real. If they get deported, I suddenly have a unit abandoned, or even worse, half a family (wife and kids?) left with no idea what to do after the breadwinner is gone.   That's been my only real concern. 

They could absolutely "trash the place" and leave, but so can any other tenant.  The tenants I worry about are not my undocumented ones, I'll just leave it at that.  

Screening is difficult I admit, but I am in an area with a heavy immigrant population. I could just as easily get fake documentation that (if quality and backed up by good credit and rental history) I would have no idea about.  They show up admitting they are not legal but have a bunch of proof of income, financial reserves, a good rental history and official documentation of identity (but yeah, from a foreign government), and their story backs up, in my honest opinion these are not red flags.

Running rental properties is really about risk management. All tenants are a risk of one kind or another. It's up to each individual to determine if the risk is acceptable given whatever market they are in.  

I am in an area with a LOT of risky prospective tenants, almost all of which are native born.  The undocumented tenants I have taken on appear to be lower risk than the other applicants I got at the time. I am not a Fox News MAGA angry type, so that whole aspect of the situation was never considered. 

Anyway sorry to so firmly reject the political speech here, I mean no hard feelings from a professional level.