Can a landlord tall an applicant whether or not a neighborhood is good or bad?

[Jon A.]

It seems I remember reading on here somewhere that a property owner is not allowed to tell an applicant that a neighborhood is "good" or "bad" as the answer is relative and could be construed as misleading. We have a property for rent and get a lot of applicants from out of town asking about the neighborhood and I am honestly not sure how to answer the question. How do other people managing their properties answer this question ?

Any info is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[Kevin Sobilo]

@Jon A. real estate agents are taught specifically not to say those kinds of things. Its too easy to fall into a trap and get yourself in trouble. For example, if you point out the proximity a the Jewish Community Center you could be accused of "steering" aka subtly guiding people who are not Jewish from wanting to live there.

So, agents are taught to provide public sources of information rather than be the source of answers themselves. So, point them to public websites about crime statistics, local amenities and attractions or whatever might answer those questions for people. This way you didn't provide the answers just guided them to where they can get answers for themselves.