Metro Apartment Manager, February 2005

Q: I recently received three applications on the same day for our one vacant unit. Because the first one looked a bit shaky, I ordered credit reports on all three before making reference calls. Sure enough, I turned the first one down because of credit, but the second one qualified. When I called the third one to say we had rented to someone who had applied before, she asked me to refund her $50 screening fee. Because I had ordered the credit report I refused. She’s angry. Was I wrong?

A: Many landlords focus on potential fair housing pitfalls when thinking about how they screen. But a few years ago Oregon adopted some law to cover screening and, based on lots of questions I get, many property managers don’t seem to understand it.

There is no legal requirement that you rent to the first applicant who qualifies, but most landlords do so because it satisfies fair housing with a process independent of the applicants and is seen as fair by most people. While there’s an arbitrariness to first come-first serve, most of us accept it.

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