What You Need to Know

We supply innovative tenant screening services for real estate agents, brokers and landlords. We offer free online tenant screening accounts that include customizable products. These include eviction histories, credit reports and criminal background checks.

 

Listing 2 Leasing is also happy to be an informational resource. That’s why we put together an overview of what you’ll need to know about The Fair Housing Act. It’s an important piece of legislation you’ll need to consider.

 

Make no mistake, landlords and people working with them have great sway and options when they are selecting a tenant. However, there are some discriminatory practices everyone involved needs to be aware of.  

 

Basically, no one can discriminate based on disability or ethnicity, religion, gender or race or familial status. 

 

How Our Tenant Screening Services Steer You Clear of Trouble

 

The tenant screening formula we use collects the information you can use legally to make the right decisions. Copies of the reports go to both the landlords and agents. Everything is done securely in accordance with The Fair Housing Act.

 

In fact, the applications themselves are done in the cloud for extra security.

 

Having an unbiased checklist like this helps you to steer clear of Fair Housing violations. These include advertising an apartment is only available to certain people and setting particular rules that apply to individual tenants.

 

Fair Housing Act Penalties 

 

This past May, the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published some important numbers. It’s a revised list of the penalties for violating The Fair Housing Act.  

 

The amount for the first violation is a maximum penalty of just over $21,000. That number jumps to almost $53,000 for numerous violations within a five-year time span.

 

Those are good reasons to use the tenant screening software we offer. If you’re a real estate agent or broker, you can rest even easier knowing our background checks are Fair Credit Reporting Act Compliant. 

 

Tenant Screening Services and Compliance

 

Compliance is accomplished by making sure our templates are designed to provide accurate information. They also adhere to federal and state reporting guidelines. 

 

Gray Areas 

 

As a real estate agent, broker or even landlord, there are some gray areas that you need to tread lightly around. For example, do your best to avoid getting caught up in discrimination where listing advertising is concerned. Some of the words that might otherwise get used on listings might be considered violations of Fair Housing laws. For example, steer away from phrases like handicapped and singles only to be on the safe side.

 

One of these gray areas is crime in the neighborhood. Prospective tenants may ask about these numbers, but they should be directed to a local police department.

 

Getting the right tenants is made easier with automation. Making the whole process convenient, accurate and compliant is our number one priority. Our E-Sign solution is the perfect way to put together templates you can reuse to save time and money. It’s coming soon. Why not get in touch today to learn more?