When you’re looking at houses or apartments to rent, you might be compelled to trust your instincts. In addition to weighing more objective facts such as the cost of rent and utilities, and how well the property is kept up, the feelings you get when you view an apartment might influence your decision.
Maybe your landlord comes off as a bit sleazy. Or you just get an uneasy feeling as you walk through the neighborhood. Perhaps something just does not seem right as you look around the house, but you can’t put your finger on it. As a renter, it’s completely within your rights to trust subjective instincts like these and not pursue renting a particular property for whatever your reason may be. Landlords do not have the same luxury.
Landlords have to abide by the Fair Housing Act, which means anytime they use subjective reasons to deny someone the ability to rent, they might open themselves up to a lawsuit. So instead, landlords turn to objective measures to screen tenants.
Whether they use a rental history report service or get the information some other way, there are three things that landlords often look at when screening tenants: criminal history, credit reports and eviction history. If you think there might be something in any of these areas that would discourage potential landlords from renting to you, it makes sense to do your own rental history check. That way, you can work to remedy any issues, as well as give potential landlords an explanation if you know there is something that might cause an issue.
Getting your rental history report is easy. With My Rental History Reports, you pay a one-time fee of $29.95 and get access to your report for 30 days.
