Background Screening

Criminal behavior is generally viewed as an unpredictable event, and therefore, outside of a landlord’s control. Courts have consistently ruled that it is unjust to hold a landlord accountable for failing to prevent a crime. However, recently an Ohio Appellate Court did just that when they found a landlord liable for failing to protect their tenant from a violent crime. In this case, the victim’s complaints against another resident’s un-leased roommate were ongoing and the lack of an appropriate response led to a verdict of negligence. The manager of the apartment complex listened to the victim’s repeated complaints of harassment and advised her to file a report with the police. As the situation escalated, the manager requested that the other resident’s boyfriend, against whom the complaints were being filed, complete a rental application and submit to a background check. The manager did not perform a criminal records search with the information collected on the submitted applic...

The first step in obtaining a good tenant for your rental property is to procure a good rental application. There are several questions that are, essentially, required on every application in order to perform the most basic background check: -Full Legal Name (spelled correctly) and any aliases -Date of Birth -Social Security Number -Current Address and Phone number A good rental application will also cover the following areas: -Contact information for the applicant’s current and previous landlords. Additionally, they should be asked to include information about when they lived at that address, the rent amount paid and reason for leaving. -Contact information for the applicant’s current and previous employer. Additionally, they should be asked to include information about dates of employment, salary earned or hourly wage, and whether they were (or are) working full or part-time. -Information on any other occupants who will reside on the property including their ...