Idaho Law Blog
By Lane V. Erickson, Attorney
Landlord clients often ask me about what they can do legally to screen and/or reject prospective tenants. A landlord’s goal is to lease the premises to a tenant who will pay their rent and keep the premises in good shape. To accomplish this goal, there are several areas that a landlord can use to legally exclude or reject prospective tenants. Some examples include non-smoking; criminal convictions for any reason; low credit score; bad reference from previous landlord; etc. A landlord can deny housing to a prospective tenant for just about any reason, so long as the reason used is not an illegal reason. The list of illegal reasons are contained in the Fair Housing Act.
There are three basic documents that every landlord should use when leasing real property. One of these three documents is the Rental Application. When used correctly, the Rental Application provides the landlord with the best tools to legally reject a prospective tenant.
In the rental application a landlord can require a tenant to provide all the information needed by a landlord to weed out most problem tenants. In the rental application a landlord can obtain all of the following information:
- driver’s license number;
- social security number;
- name of current employer;
- location and phone number of current employer;
- previous rental history including names and phone numbers of previous landlords;
- criminal history;
- names of every person 18 and older who will live in the premises;
- names and phone numbers of relatives in case of emergency;
- vehicle information; and
- bank account information.
It is also wise in a rental application to have language where the prospective tenant authorizes a release to the landlord of any and all information the landlord needs to thoroughly investigate the potential tenant to determine whether the potential tenant will be a safe and reliable tenant.
From a practical standpoint, just using this kind of a rental application weeds out many potential tenants that a landlord will want to avoid. Many potential tenants simply do not want the landlord to call their current employer, or previous landlord or even their relatives because they know that a poor reference will be given. Additionally, some potential tenants already know their that they have been charged or convicted of a certain crime and that the landlord will learn of this. These types of potential tenants rarely even make the effort to return the filled out rental application and generally look elsewhere for housing.
Additionally, a landlord can place language in the application requiring the potential tenant to sign their name stating that their signature is an affirmation that the information the potential tenant placed on the application is true and accurate. Further, a wise landlord will then place language in the written lease agreement that states that the application is incorporated as a part of the lease agreement and that if the landlord determines at any time that the tenant has falsified information on either the application or the lease agreement the lease will be terminated and the landlord can seek the immediate eviction of the tenant.
With the use of a well-crafted Rental Application, a landlord can stop a problem before it begins. If you have questions about the process of rejecting a tenant, we can help. Call us toll free at 877-232-6101 or 208-232-6101 for a consultation with Lane Erickson and the Racine Olson team of Landlord and Tenant Law and Real Estate attorneys in Idaho. You can also email Lane Erickson directly at lve@racinelaw.net. We will answer your Idaho Landlord and Tenant Law and Real Estate questions and will help you solve your Idaho Landlord and Tenant Law and Real Estate needs.
This website includes general information about legal issues and developments in the law. Such materials are for informational purposes only and may not reflect the most current legal developments. These informational materials are not intended, and must not be taken, as legal advice on any particular set of facts or circumstances. You need to contact a lawyer for advice on specific legal issues.