According to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), about one in three Americans have a criminal record. With such high rates, you're more than likely to encounter several of them as applicants to your Knoxville rental property.
A tenant criminal background check lets you determine if any of your applicants have a criminal history. However, even if they do, you can't just deny them.
In this guide created by the expert team at PMI Knoxville, you'll learn essential screening tips to stay legally compliant, so read on.
1. Get Permission From All Tenants
According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), tenant criminal background checks are a type of consumer report. So, they fall under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), which requires that obtaining such reports will only be for "specific permissible purposes," such as renting houses. One way to establish your purpose is to obtain written consent from tenants permitting you to check their criminal background.
2. Beware Housing Discrimination
The City of Knoxville Government implements the Fair Housing Program to ensure residents can access decent and suitable living environments. It also enforces fair housing laws that prohibit discrimination based on seven protected classes, including:
- Color
- Disability
- Familial Status
- National Origin
- Race
- Religion
- Sex
Landlords who commit mistakes deemed discriminatory can face legal trouble. An example is if they only apply their tenant screening process to applicants of a specific color or religion. Avoid this by performing all background check steps on every applicant, not just on select people.
3. Blanket Bans Are a No-No
According to the Fair Housing Center for Rights & Research, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) prohibits blanket bans on all rental applicants with criminal records. Under this prohibition, you, as a landlord, can't deny housing to tenants just because they have a criminal record. After all, a record can also be for an arrest that never ended in a conviction or a wrongful charge that got dropped.
4. Run a Tenant Criminal Background Check on All Applicants
One of the most crucial landlord tips for Knoxville landlords is implementing a consistent tenant background screening process for each applicant. As mentioned above, you can't run checks on someone and not on others, as this is against the law. Instead, you must be consistent; if you're screening an applicant for potential criminal convictions, you must screen all other applicants similarly, regardless of who they are or how much they make.
5. Hire a Property Management Company
The simplest way to improve rental property security without violating criminal background check laws is to hire a professional property management firm. They follow all screening laws and can even manage your entire rental, from marketing it to collecting rent and protecting you from evictions.
Partner With PMI Knoxville
Considering all the complex tenant criminal background check laws you must follow, it'll be best to let the pros handle the process on your behalf.
PMI Knoxville is a premier provider of full-service property management solutions in Knoxville, TN. As a franchisee of PMI, a larger company with over 20 years of property management history, we have the tools, skills, and technology to conduct comprehensive tenant background checks in compliance with all laws.
So, speak with us today, and we'll happily discuss how we'll screen your tenants!
