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Showing posts from May, 2014

USING RENTAL CRITERIA TO AVOID FAIR HOUSING VIOLATIONS

The violation of Federal Fair Housing laws can result in the loss of thousands of dollars in both civil and punitive fines, in addition to the repercussive expense of legal fees and the phenomenal expenditure of time and effort that is required of any court process. Fair housing claims occur commonly as a result of the resident screening process, but that need not be the case. One easy way to avoid Fair Housing violations is to establish clear (written) rental criteria and then to consistently follow those criteria. TIPS FOR ESTABLISHING RENTAL CRITERIA: -Occupancy guidelines: In general most follow the 2 people per bedroom or the 2 people per bedroom plus 1 rule. This is not a hard rule, however, and the layout of your property may mean that it is appropriate to allow fewer (or more) occupants. -Income to rent ratio: The industry standard is that an applicant must make 3 times the asking rent amount. This ratio is considered to offer good assurance that there are enough