Criminal Background Checks

With criminal background checks, discrimination is a crime.

Criminal background checks are an integral part of resident screening. Most landlords and managers who use criminal background checks as part of the tenant screening process will reject an applicant with a criminal record that shows any of the following:

• Conviction of any felony.
• Conviction of crimes against people or property.
• Conviction of crimes involving the manufacture, sale or distribution of controlled substances.
• Conviction of crimes involving solicitation or prostitution.

If you obtain criminal background checks and your rental criteria provides for rejection as noted above, consider these questions:

• Are applicants that have served their sentence still disqualified from consideration?
• Are applicants who have been arrested, but not yet tried, to be disqualified? In some areas, it can take months or years for a case to come to trial.

Remember, you must treat all applicants the same! You cannot pull a criminal history report for one applicant and not another who is applying for the same property.