About a year later, when I was in a meeting with the Planning Director, he mentioned this rule is unenforceable because any guest can say they are "family", and how do I verify that? 

Ask what the reference's name is, how the reference knows them, and then ask open-ended questions to verify application details (how much is rent, how many people are living there, how much do they earn, what are their smoking habits, address, work performance, etc.).

Ask a LOT of questions that force people to explain things so that you can understand them or can verify yourself independently. 

Between my photo copies of government ID, lease where they initial and sign all over, and the signed application with all of their personal information which I verified through a background check, I think it may be difficult for them to succeed with this.I feel a tenant should always pay the credit card fees. 

When I asked about this, they said that , they had identity theft. 

Data the applicant enters seems to frequently not be verified and it allows for complete omissions in fields and hides important information such as social security numbers from landlords. 

They'll require that you fill out a bit more information, and even ask for a picture of you holding your driver's license next to your face to confirm your identity.

Verifying last 2 years of rental history very important!

FYI - you should still work with a trusted local source to still verify anything you put an offer on, as some of the Neighborhoods are block-by-block.Like @Travis Biziorek, we're looking to attract more investment to Detroit!

Would you accept a tenant for a $2,150/month rent with the following situation:- They own 2 restaurants so it is hard to verify their actual income VS the company.