Criminal background checks

[Conrad Legé]

Hello,

Im in the process of looking for tenants again for one of my units. I have used the PMS Avail for the last two years to manage my units & screen all potential tenants. However I realized that they no longer have the criminal backgrounding screening feature available. They stated due to regulatory changes in IL, they can no longer provide those reports for rental applications.

Does this mean I no longer can do a background check in IL or is there a work around with possibly another service I can use? Any insights appreciated.

Thanks,

[Nathan Gesner]

Quote from @Conrad Legé:

I did a search and don't see a ban on searching criminal history. Maybe Avail made a personal decision?

Check out TransUnion SmartMove.

[Kyle Wheeler]

Hey Conrad,

I would look for another background service as this is an important step in finding a potential tenant. We use Rent Butter and have had a good experience so far!

Good Luck!

[Paul De Luca]

Quote from @Conrad Legé:

Hello,

Im in the process of looking for tenants again for one of my units. I have used the PMS Avail for the last two years to manage my units & screen all potential tenants. However I realized that they no longer have the criminal backgrounding screening feature available. They stated due to regulatory changes in IL, they can no longer provide those reports for rental applications.

Does this mean I no longer can do a background check in IL or is there a work around with possibly another service I can use? Any insights appreciated.

Thanks,

 As far as I'm aware there are still a number of rental management softwares that still do background checks such as Zillow Rental Manager (I use it), Apartments.com, TransUnion SmartMove, and others. I also use Forewarn, a reverse phone lookup/name search service, which has been helpful for catching things the background check from Zillow Rental Manager does not reveal.

[Russell Brazil]

Cook County Illinois passed the Just Housing Ammendment to the Human Rights Ordinance. It allows criminal background checks but adds very specific rules to what and how to apply. I would not be surprised due to the subjectivity of the JHA that a PM or landlord would simply forgo doing a criminal background check so they are not found in violation of the Human Rights Ordinance.

[Conrad Legé]

Quote from @Nathan Gesner:

Quote from @Conrad Legé:

I did a search and don't see a ban on searching criminal history. Maybe Avail made a personal decision?

Check out TransUnion SmartMove.

 Appreciate it, I’ll look into this. 

[Conrad Legé]

Quote from @Kyle Wheeler:

Hey Conrad,

I would look for another background service as this is an important step in finding a potential tenant. We use Rent Butter and have had a good experience so far!

Good Luck!

Awesome. Thanks for the recs!

[Conrad Legé]

Quote from @Russell Brazil:

Cook County Illinois passed the Just Housing Ammendment to the Human Rights Ordinance. It allows criminal background checks but adds very specific rules to what and how to apply. I would not be surprised due to the subjectivity of the JHA that a PM or landlord would simply forgo doing a criminal background check so they are not found in violation of the Human Rights Ordinance.

This is good to know. I will have to look into this new amendment.

[Peter Tverdov]

New Jersey has something similar. You need to do a criminal background search last to not be discriminatory in NJ. Our property management company had to seek guidance on that to make sure we were doing things correctly.

Please remember L/T laws differ by state guys! To keep it simple the blue states usually afford tenants the most protections so IL and NJ are no stranger to things like this, whereas Oklahoma and Wyoming might be. 

[Drew Sygit]

2nd on using Rent Butter!

[Mary Smith]

We use SmartMove through Innago. I understand that in states with restrictions, those specific reports are not pulled, but all other reports are displayed.

[Daniel Baker]

This is a dynamic situation in Chicago.  If I were you I would contact a good real estate attorney in Chicago.  If you want a recommendation message me.  

[John Warren]

@Conrad Legé Cook county has the just housing ordinance now, so criminal cannot be considered until the end of the process. A lot of companies are doing something to protect themselves, which is to completely remove the criminal portion. It is a terrible idea. You CAN still screen for criminal history, but you have to comply with the just housing ordinance.