New owners often want to know if they can have a say in the tenant screening process. They want to learn about the tenant before the property manager gives them the final approval. While this might seem reasonable and even logical on the surface, allowing the owner input into the screening process could put both the owner and the property manager in major jeopardy.
Why? Fair housing laws.
One of the duties of the property manager is to have screening criteria. This is criteria that if the applicant meets, means they are both qualified and a strong candidate. Because screening criteria is objective, it is a safe way to evaluate an applicant.
If an owner decided they didn’t like an applicant who qualified and wanted to deny them, it could look discriminatory. That is not good luck and could lead to a federal or state investigation.
Investigations cost tens of thousands of dollars and a lot of time, not to mention the reputational damage of being perceived as discriminatory.
Long story short, you don’t want to be involved in the process. You want plausible deniability. That’s a major reason why you hire a professional property manager.
