Can You Rent a House To Someone With a Criminal Record?

Discussion in 'Landlord & Rental Property Questions' started by Rainman, May 25, 2015.

  1. Sunflogun

    Sunflogun Well-Known Member

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    LOL, fraud could be dangerous indeed, if he has money most likely is because he's taking what is not his. It's a tough choice, but ultimately we need to trust and ask for referrals, those are the most safe cases.
     
  2. CarpeNemo

    CarpeNemo Well-Known Member

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    Yes, in that case the landlord might even be culpable for some of that money, especially if it is paid in cash - a lawyer in court could argue the landlord was involved in any wrongdoing since he rented an apartment to a felon convicted of fraud, and by taking cash was in essence helping the felon launder the money. I am not a lawyer, but I'm a pessimist from way back and that could go extremely poorly for the landlord in that scenario.
     
  3. missbishi

    missbishi Well-Known Member

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    It wouldn't bother me in the slightest. I am making an assumption that a prospective tenant with a criminal record would be in receipt of some sort of housing assistance. I love housing assistance payments, they are made directly to the landlord, leaving zero chance that your rent won't get paid. Deposits and periodic inspections are the way to deal with any potential damage and if I do think that a tenant is "sketchy", then I will add 3-monthly inspections as a condition of the contract.
     
  4. SteakTartare

    SteakTartare Senior Investor

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    Nope, I wouldn't take the chance. There is little to gain and a lot to lose. There is federal protections for people will a felony record for drug use only, but beyond that, a landlord can deny an applicant based upon a criminal record. State statutes vary a bit.
     
  5. crimsonghost747

    crimsonghost747 Senior Investor

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    The thing is, in most areas where you would even be interested in owning a rental apartment/house, you would think there is an abundance of tenants around. Apart from the housing assistance benefits than are paid straight to the landlord (in some countries), is there any reason to go with a guy who has a record vs. a guy who doesn't?
     
  6. JR Ewing

    JR Ewing Super Moderator Staff Member

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    This.

    There's no way in hell I'd ever consider renting to a convicted sex offender or other violent criminal or thief. And if they have priors for felony hard drug use, I would rather not take a chance on them - I'm sure I could find other valid reasons not to rent to them. Charging a relatively high monthly rent will often "weed" (pardon the pun) these types out, as will things like credit checks, relatively high deposit requirements, requests for rental history, etc.

    I'll let some other landlord be the nice guy who is willing to give them a second chance. ;)
     
  7. In the running

    In the running Well-Known Member

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    If you live in a rural area where tenants are hard to come by, you tend to be more lax in your criteria. If you live in a big city where you have a backlog of applications, you can afford to be more choosy.
     
  8. In the running

    In the running Well-Known Member

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  9. crimsonghost747

    crimsonghost747 Senior Investor

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    Exactly. But not sure if I would want to buy and investment property from an area that is very limited in tenants... simply because you could run into these problems where you kinda have to rent it to someone because there are no better candidates and letting an investment property sit empty is never a good thing.
     
  10. Sunflogun

    Sunflogun Well-Known Member

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    Yes, that is certainly a bad investment, having property where there is not a lot of demand in tenants. We are better off having property in cities where we have a lot of tenants to pick from.
     

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