New York tenant screening

[Meghan Cheek]

Hello all!

I'm looking to fill a vacancy and would love to use an online platform like cozy or mysmartmove for applications and screening.  However, with the new laws passed in NY limiting application fees to $20 and making it illegal to use a tenant's past eviction history during screening, I'm having difficulty navigating this process.  What are other NY landlords doing?  What online application and screening tools are you using that are compliant with these laws?  Any input would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you!

Meghan

[Meghan Cheek]

This was the reply I received from Cozy about the screening fee:

"Prospective tenants can always submit an application for free by declining to run their credit report and background check. However, if you do require those reports, my best recommendation would be to have them order the reports through Cozy, and then reimburse them the $19.99.

Cozy is currently set up so renters purchase their screening reports themselves, and then share their reports with their potential landlord to allow self-initiated soft credit checks that don't harm applicants' credit. Because of this setup, tenants must provide their personal information and answer security questions prior to paying.

This may be more difficult or just not an option at this time, but what some landlords choose to do to pay for their applicant's screening costs is to have them order their screening reports at the rental showing. Then, after the tenant completes their verification, you can enter your payment information instead of theirs. But again, due to the current state of things, I know this may not be an option."

Doesn't sound like a process I would want to go through, pandemic or not, it's just not efficient or reasonable. 

I also reached out to MySmartMove regarding their screening process, as they run a report on past evictions.  In NY it is now illegal to use past evictions as a reason to deny an applicant.  If a landlord denies an applicant and it is found that the landlord purchased an eviction screening, it is automatically assumed the applicant was denied based on the previous eviction.  So I'm not sure how to go about screening tenants.  Some companies automatically check evictions.  For companies where its optional, I don't know if I should even request an eviction screen as I can't use it anyway and if poses more of a liability at this point.  I'm just curious how other NY landlords are handling these new laws when screening, because I'm at a loss 🤷