It’s very easy to make a fair housing mistake, especially if you’re managing your own Lee’s Summit rental property without the experienced help of a professional property manager. Most landlords don’t set out to intentionally discriminate against people, but you can violate a part of the Fair Housing Act without even realizing it. The way you market your property and screen your tenants is really under a microscope, and errors are costly.
Since its founding in 2011, Midwest Property Resources has been innovating property management and leasing in eastern Jackson County, northern Cass County, Missouri as well as Johnson County, KS, serving the communities of Lee’s Summit, Blue Springs, Greenwood, Raymore, Independence, Overland Park, and others that surround them.
We’ve stayed up to date on all the changes in fair housing, and we have a process that’s fair, consistent, and legally compliant when we’re qualifying residents. We can help you with your fair housing concerns.
Fair Housing and Advertising a Lee’s Summit Rental Home
When you’re marketing your rental home, you can include details in your listing that discuss the home’s size, what the rent will be per month, when the home will be ready for occupancy, and what the property’s benefits are – whether those happen to be great natural light, updated kitchen appliances, or a fenced backyard.
You cannot say it would be “great for single professionals.” You cannot say it’s close to churches. This type of language can be seen as discriminatory against several of the law’s protected classes.
Keep your rental property marketing accessible to everyone who is qualified. Including or excluding certain groups like families or religious minorities can be seen as discriminatory. Keep your advertising focused on what the property is and what it has to offer. Don’t make assumptions about who would want to live there and don’t talk about the types of tenants you would prefer.
Establish and Document Qualifying Rental Criteria
Put together a standard rental criteria or a set of qualifications, and put it in writing. Provide it to any tenant who is interested in filling out an application. Then, make sure you follow your own standards consistently every time you screen a potential tenant.
You have to screen each application the same way, otherwise you could be accused of discrimination. Denying one applicant because of a 580 credit score is not going to hold up in court if the tenant you eventually place has a 560 credit score. Be consistent.
Set up the standards you seek in terms of credit, income, criminal history, and rental references. This will make it easy for you to move through the application process because you’ll know exactly who is approved and who is not just by looking at the data. It’s objective and protects you against any potential claims of discrimination.
Service and Support Animals are not Pets
