Rental Applicants with Criminal Histories – Can You Ban Those Tenants?

Can you issue a blanket ban on potential tenants who have criminal histories?

This is a common question that many landlords in Southern California, and across the United States have asked because they think that’s it’s their rental property and they can rent to whoever they want.

The reality is that issuing blanket bans on people with criminal histories is illegal, especially for these reasons:

It’s A Fair Housing Act Violation

In the last two years, the sentiment towards renting to people with criminal histories has changed and what may have once been legal in the past may now be considered to be a violation of the Fair Housing Act.

A person who has been convicted of a crime has the same “protected class” status under the United States Fair Housing act as people of color, handicap, or gender.

It’s best to not discriminate against someone based on their criminal record if you own a beach management company or an individual landlord. You should instead base your decision solely on if they meet your criteria including their credit score, job history, etc.

Learn More About How and When the Crime Was Committed

As a long time, San Diego Property Management company who also manages rentals across California we can tell you that when considering renting to people with criminal histories, it’s also important to consider how and when the crime was committed.

Since all criminal records are not created alike, it’s best to consider the crime and length of time that’s passed since it was committed.

You don’t want to rule out someone who has turned their life around since the crime was committed but you also don’t want to rent to someone who could pose a danger to other renters in your building or neighbors who live nearby.

Get Professional Property Management Help Here

For professional property management contact Utopia Property Management today by calling us at (858) 598-1111 or connect with us online.