I received this inquiry. How would you reply. This is a four family and id really rather not even reply or rent to them.

Did you send them your standard prescreen? Fall back on having that answered before moving further and then let your app weed them out. Just keep stressing that everyone must pass the application process and everyone goes on the lease.

I have had similar situations. My 'canned' response is, I can not make an acceptance/rejection decision until I receive an application. Also I can not reply to hypothetical (or other) situations, without an application in hand. Here is my rental criteria & application. Please know the application fee is $XX and is non refundable.

I'd take the easy way out.

I'd delete her email and not respond back to her at all.

NE is right , you can NOT deny foley for a criminal record. Need HUD guidelines.

New guidance has been issued by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to explain legal use of evaluating criminal history when performing tenant screening for your rental properties. In clarifying what constitutes discriminatory behavior when reviewing a rental applicant’s criminal background, landlords and property managers may find they need to revisit their tenant screening criteria.

HUD enforces policies outlined in the Fair Housing Act which prohibits housing discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status or national origin. HUD recently examined how housing providers were using criminal history for rental applicants and wants to prevent discriminatory effects and disparate treatment that lead to adverse housing action. In other words, housing providers were seen to unfairly screen certain types of criminals or types of crimes and even deny housing to applicants based on arrest records but not convictions – and HUD created new policies to prevent this type of behavior.

In order to protect the 100 million U.S. adults that have a criminal record of some sort, HUD issued the Guidance on Application of Fair Housing Act Standards to the Use of Criminal Records by Providers of Housing and Real Estate-Related Transactions on April 4, 2016.

HUD explains how criminal history can be used in a discriminatory way be housing providers, whether intentionally or unintentionally:

While having a criminal record is not a protected characteristic under the Fair Housing Act, criminal history-based restrictions on housing opportunities violate the Act if, without justification, their burden falls more often on renters or other housing market participants of one race or national origin over another (i.e., discriminatory effects liability). 9 Additionally, intentional discrimination in violation of the Act occurs if a housing provider treats individuals with comparable criminal history differently because of their race, national origin or other protected characteristic (i.e., disparate treatment liability). (Section III).

HUD is now limiting the use of arrest records for tenant screening for housing providers. The guidance goes on to explain that arrest records can be incomplete and do not actually indicate any criminal activity has occurred unless a conviction has been made.

To prevent any discriminatory behavior, housing providers must create explicit screening criteria that denotes what type of criminal convictions will result in denied housing. Additionally, housing providers will need to demonstrate that deniable criminal convictions would put their residents and/or property at risk.

To do this, a housing provider must show that its policy accurately distinguishes between criminal conduct that indicates a demonstrable risk to resident safety and/or property and criminal conduct that does not.

What HUD’s new Guidance means for housing providers:

Arrests records are not a valid reason to deny a rental applicant housing.

Convicted criminals may be denied housing if the reason for their convictions clearly demonstrates that the safety of your residents and/or property are at risk.

Blanket terms in your screening criteria that say “Any criminal convictions will be denied” are now considered discriminatory and in violation of the Fair Housing Act.

The new Guidance does not make criminals a protected class, but rather establishes requirements to clearly prove why you are denying an applicant based on a criminal conviction.

Remember that a housing provider violates the Fair Housing Act when the provider’s policy or practice has an unjustified discriminatory effect, even when the provider had no intent to discriminate

Ryan Green with Apply Connect offers great advice for landlords and property managers on how to manage these new policies from HUD by following these simple steps:

Review your policy to make sure the language is clear, and conforms to the HUD guidelines (and have your housing specialist attorney read it over).

Educate your staff, or anyone involved in reviewing background checks, so they are aware of the new guidance.

Consider contacting your tenant screening provider to ask about their ability to restrict records that cannot be used in the decision.

If you use integrated tenant screening services in your property management software, make sure the reports provided comply with these new policies. Rentec Direct has already taken the steps to filter our criminal background checks to exclude arrest records in order to mitigate our clients from Fair Housing enforcement and civil litigation.

Not yet a Rentec Direct user, learn more about how easy it is to start screening your tenants today by watching this short video on tenant screening.

Sometimes my typos embarrass me (not always).

Should read.....you can NOT deny SOLEY for a criminal record. NEW HUD guidelines.

I could care less what HUD says these days on some topics. I don't take felons and tell them straight up I do not take felons. Then again I'm small time compared to other landlords so I don't have a fortune to lose.

"you can NOT deny SOLEY for a criminal record. NEW HUD guidelines."

That's not what the new HUD guideline said. It said you can't have a blanket ban on all people with criminal convictions. You're still allowed to deny someone solely on a criminal conviction if it's something that's a threat to the property or other residents.

This is just like people who scam LL's out of pet deposits with their fake ESAs. My guess is that someone who is a RSO will have PLENTY of other things to deny based off of...

I'm certainly not saying to take the person, but registered sex offender can be anything from pedophile to a consensual relationship when the other person was under age. I know someone that had jury duty and the case was brought by a woman now married with children against a man (I think 20 years later). It had been a consensual relationship but he had been older and she was 15 and years later determined was not old enough for consent. I can't remember the outcome but that would make him a registered sex offender.

I had a tenant that ended up being a model tenant. The criminal report showed burglary charges. When I looked into it, they charge was dropped to trespassing. I asked and was told about a 21st birthday involving a lot of alcohol and waking up on a stranger's couch.

Screen, screen, screen and then lunch or in this case... lunch, screen, and lunch again.

Public urination can be cause to get on the RSO list.

You have a FOUR PLEX!!!

R.S.O. wants to live in one of the units. Like others have said the sister will not stay in the unit. She wants the unit for her brother. WELL let her take her brother to her own home. IF she is SOOO concerned about her brothers living arrangements.

WHAT about the safety of the other 3 residents? IF I read the HUD REQUIREMENTS a landlord should be able to reject based on safety of others.

That being said go to the national RSO website for your area. Check on the RSO's in your area you may be amazing to see how many are in the area?

Safety of other 3 residents??? Main Concern!!!

Application to be completed by all adults that will be living in the unit.

Application fee for each prospective adult???

Credit score???

Income X 3 or X 4 or X5 what is your requirement??? Should be the same now as in the past.

You should be able to reject on one or all of these issues.

plenty,

Before you go to lunch...

Yes you can deny them based on the information they provided. Document the time, date, people, and info of that call or message. If it's an email print it out along with your reply.

Keep this info in a place you can find 2 years from now when they file against you.

No, the sister is NOT going to live there. She'd just trying to help him qualify.

Best response: "Everyone is welcome to apply."

Laura,

Can they be SOULLY denied?? :)

David,

They don't care about your assets. They will sue you to make an example of you on the front page and you'll run up THOUSAND$$$ in atty fees trying to defend yourself, after your name is ruined.

It's not hard to be in compliance.

BRAD

i agree, we all know it, the sister is going to move out after the first month, or never move in,,, thing happen "Suddenly! "

So I received three emails that weekend. I replied to them all on Monday, with cut and paste, same information.

Sister and RSO are the only ones that clarified their situation. So in their email, cut and paste, plus one additional line: I can not tell you if i can qualify you until I have an application. All roommates must quantify individually.

So far, it's WED, i have not heard back from any of the three emails.

ALSO NOTE: rules and laws change, so when any amount of time has gone by i always make time to seek new updated information, as to not to reply wrong or by an old standard. Back Story is my sister owns this building, she bought it from an old lady about five years ago, that old lady was fined for something she said that was recorded video and voice and played on the local news station, she was fined by Fair Housing, so when I get one of these types of request I tread carefully as the property address could be on a list to test.