If you’re a landlord in California, you’ll find that the Golden State tends to handle tenant screening a little differently compared to the rest of the nation. To help you stay compliant with the law—and make the most informed rental decisions—here are some of the most important things you should know about screening tenants in California. Please note that this is for informational purposes only and is not intended as legal advice.
Understanding California Tenant Screening Laws
As a landlord, there are several important laws you should be aware of when screening California applicants:
- -As of February 2022, rental application fees are capped at $52.46 and should not exceed your out-of-pocket costs.
- -You can charge a maximum security deposit of up to two times your monthly rental rate or up to three times your monthly rental rate if the rental property is furnished.
- -You’re required to provide a copy of the applicant’s credit report if they request it.
- -You can only run a background check on an applicant if you have their signed consent.
It’s also worth noting that the application fee is usually non-refundable and separate from the security deposit. However, you aren’t required to charge an application fee. If you charged more for the application fee than your actual out-of-pocket costs, you must return the remainder of the fee to the applicant.
Although you may pass along the cost of screening to your applicants, you must provide each applicant with a written receipt with itemized costs. This step isn’t necessary if you use our RentalConnect service because the applicant pays for the cost of the screening directly.
Tenant Screening Center offers a variety of free resources for landlords, including state-specific rental applications, pet addendums, and more. Click here to find the form you need.
The Tenant Screening Process
Regardless of the state your property is in, every landlord should develop a list of screening criteria that can be referenced when selecting new tenants. Here are some examples of criteria you may wish to include:
- -Must be fully employed and make 3 times the monthly rent
- -No smoking
- -No pets
- -No violent crimes
- -No previous evictions
When selecting tenants, you need to make sure your criteria, marketing, and screening processes don’t discriminate against any of the protected classes listed in the Fair Housing Act. While federal law identifies 7 protected classes, there are several additional classes listed in the California Fair Housing Act. This includes:
- -Race, color
- -Religion
- -Sex, gender, gender expression
- -Marital status
- -Sexual orientation
- -Ancestry, national origin
- -Mental or physical disability
- -Familial status
- -Citizenship, immigration status
- -Primary language
- -Age
- -Source of income
- -Military or veteran status
Writing down your rental criteria is a critical first step in protecting yourself against Fair Housing Act violations and potential lawsuits. The next step is to ensure that you screen each of your applicants consistently, without making any changes or exceptions to your screening criteria. Even if you were to make exceptions on a case-by-case scenario, this could be seen as discrimination. Likewise, you’ll need to ensure all marketing efforts and screenings are conducted in a way that avoids any form of discrimination.
For more insights into tenant and landlord rights that are specific to California, click here.
Once you’ve chosen a few promising applicants, it’s time to screen them. We recommend a minimum of a credit check and background check. A credit check will give you insight into an applicant’s debt history, while a background check will give you information on their eviction history, bankruptcies, judgments, liens, and address history.
Don’t Skip Tenant Screening
Although it may be tempting, you never want to select a tenant based on their likeability or your gut feeling. Even though an applicant may seem like a good fit, there’s no way to know whether they’ll be able to pay rent on time or if they have a history of being a responsible tenant without screening them.
As there may be specific regional or municipal tenant-landlord laws, it’s always recommended to review your local laws to ensure your properties and processes are fully compliant.
Order your tenant screening reports today or feel free to contact Tenant Screening Center at 800-523-2381.
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