First Rental - Pittsburgh, PA Rejection / Add'l Deposit Laws

[Austin Everett]

I recently listed my first rental in Pittsburgh, PA (Allegheny County) and got my first batch of applicants. Unfortunately they weren't the shining stars I was hoping for so I'm curious about a few items as I haven't been able to get any concrete answers from my research.

1. If I were to deny based upon 1 of the applicant's credit check, is there a regulated process I need to follow or a form I need to provide them? Or can I just state that their credit score falls well below my minimum threshold?

2. Should the other 2 tenants checks come back fine and I am willing to rent the place to them even with the 1 bad egg, am I able to request an additional deposit from the one bad egg? Currently I'm asking for a full month's rent ($500/each)....I would look to ask for at least 3 month's rent from the bad egg ($1500 total).

3. This is a side topic but I'm a bit uncomfortable with the thought of accepting them so I'm curious if you all would. The bad egg has a 505 credit score with almost $130K in debt between student loans, car, and credit card debt. She's late on multiple payments across this spectrum and has a $12K open credit due that is 9 months past due. I plan to discuss this with her but just wanted to get your all's thoughts. The one other applicant has an average score of 653 but his income is only $35K so he doesn't have the greatest financial stability as well (he is current on all payments though). Still waiting on the third applicant's information.

Let me know, any help is appreciated!

[Sam T.]

You need to brush up on Fair Housing Laws. You can deny them based on low credit you would be required to provide them with the information you saw that the decision was based off. I use mysmartmove for tenant screening and its very easy for them and will give them access to their report if you deny them. You need to create some form of a tenant selection plan and before they apply they will know what your criteria is.. example 600 credit score 3x income etc. You can request additional security deposit but new laws affect how long you can keep that, I believe only one year but you will need to independently verify this. I would rather have an empty unit for 6 months than to let the wrong person in you have to be very disciplined in selecting proper tenants. I am not in the second chance business!