The single most useful thing you can do is decide your criteria before you meet anyone, write them down, and apply them identically to every applicant.
Reasonable criteria
- A minimum income relative to rent — commonly two-and-a-half to three times, applied to everyone.
- References from previous landlords.
- A credit or background check, with the applicant’s written consent.
- Employment or income verification.
What you may not do
The Fair Housing Act prohibits treating applicants differently because of race, colour, religion, sex, familial status, national origin or disability. In practice that means:
- No rule against children, and no steering families toward particular units or floors.
- No refusing an assistance animal under a no-pets policy, and no pet fee for one.
- No different criteria, deposit or rent for different applicants.
- Many states and cities also prohibit refusing housing vouchers. Check your local rules.
Keep a record
Note the criteria, who applied, and why each decision was made. If a decision is ever challenged, a consistent written record is what answers it.
If you decline someone based on a credit or background report, federal law requires you to tell them, and to say which agency supplied it.