Tenant Screening Criteria: How to Set Consistent Standards

The single biggest legal risk in tenant screening isn't any one criterion — it's applying criteria inconsistently. Written, standardized screening criteria, applied the same way to every applicant, is what actually protects you.

What belongs in written screening criteria

A solid set of criteria typically covers:

• • Minimum income relative to rent (commonly 2.5-3x monthly rent, gross)
• • Credit score minimum, if you use one, and how derogatory items (collections, prior evictions) factor in
• • Rental history requirements — length, and how prior evictions or landlord disputes are weighed
• • Criminal background policy, applied consistently and in line with applicable Fair Housing guidance
• • Number of occupants relative to unit size
• • Co-signer policy for applicants who don't independently meet income or credit standards

Write it down before you screen anyone

Criteria that live only in your head are impossible to prove you applied consistently. Put them in writing before you screen your first applicant, and apply the exact same standard to every application for that unit — the same income multiple, the same credit threshold, the same treatment of an eviction on record.

Where landlords get into legal trouble

Most Fair Housing complaints related to screening don't come from having strict standards — they come from applying standards inconsistently between applicants, or from criteria that have a disparate impact on a protected class without a legitimate, consistently-applied business justification. A blanket policy applied evenly is much safer ground than case-by-case judgment calls.