Rejecting Applicants

Landlords need to choose their tenants wisely. Do not be tempted to accept any applicant that comes along mainly because you are desperate to have the property occupied. Often times, the revenue loss of running vacant spaces is more manageable than future financial loss incurred by incompetent tenants. Never hesitate to reject applicants if you deem they are not qualified based on the most objective and reasonable standards, of course. Inspect a prospective tenant’s credit bureau and/or banking history. Confirm his employment and financial conditions. Check his tenancy history and probe into his evictions, if there is any. When possible, check court records. Furthermore, check his references.

Application Rejected

Although you want to dig deeper into the records of prospective tenants, be aware of human rights considerations. Certain laws prohibit you from rejecting or accepting tenants with prejudices based on race, citizenship, sex, age, marital status, and the like. While some countries permit asking if tenants have or plan to have more children, some countries do not.