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Tenant Screening Tip: Avoid “Steering”

Posted by GuestPoster in Legal Matters

In the tenant screening process, all forms of discriminatory judgments in accepting or rejecting an applicant is prohibited by laws across all states. As a landlord therefore, while it is your prerogative to demand that you follow your own standards in running your rental business, you have to make sure that you also abide by the Fair Housing Laws.

One process that may link a landlord to a possible discrimination act is “steering”. It is basically the act of compelling a tenant to fill a vacant space which you believe he is best suited to, or persuade a prospect against choosing a unit which you think is not well fitting for him. To do this particular acts mean that you have other agenda for doing such acts. Most of the time, it is understood that when a landlord does the act of steering it could be based on the person’s unique characteristics, such as age, gender preference, racial background, and religious faith.

To avoid steering, you need to be reasonable at all times when handling a showing. Whatever the available units are, make sure that your prospect was able to observe the units. As a landlord, you should not be making the decision on which space to rent. It is always up to the client. What you need to do is just to highlight the features of the available unit or units. Literally describe it as it is: number of bedrooms, building level located, whether it has a balcony or not, with a view or no view, so on and so forth. Never persuade somebody to choose a particular unit because you think it is best for him. You should not make that kind of decision. Leave it to the prospect. It is a good sign of respect for the other person’s judgment.