Eployment verification third parties

[Kat Rathell]

We recently started running into more employers using the Worknumber or Truework or other employment verification services. Our rentals are in the inner city of Milwaukee, WI, so our renters are low income.

The services charge $50 for verifications, and it is a lot for our prospective tenants. We don’t charge an application fee, and only charge $25 for a background check if we have confirmed their rental history and employment and want to move ahead and offer the unit to the applicant. Yes, it is a lot of work, but we are a small business and want to be fair to our applicants, and not charge them until there is reason to.

We do not ever call the number of the ‘supervisor’ listed on the application, we go straight to HR, and caught a ton of fake employment records that way. But I feel that our low income tenants are at a disadvantage with this new trend, considering how they have to pay to prove they are employed to qualify for an apartment.

Any thoughts or workarounds?

Thanks!