The landlord and tenant laws have changed in Portland this year, and screening tenants is more complicated than it’s ever been. Your screening process must be well-documented, and you have to demonstrate that you’ve approved the first tenant who meets all of your screening criteria.
Using criminal history is more difficult. You cannot consider felony convictions that are older than seven years, and you cannot consider misdemeanor convictions that are older than three years. You have to be more careful with credit, and even your income standards have to meet the established norms; otherwise, you could be asked to explain in writing why you rejected a prospective tenant who earns twice the monthly rent.
This leaves many rental property owners wondering how they can effectively screen prospective tenants and what they can look at when making their decisions.
We recommend screening tenants with the help of a Portland property management company. It’s the best way to protect yourself from liability and lawsuits.
Here are three important things that we will focus on when screening tenants.
