NSW Choosing a tenant

I am of the understanding that you cannot discriminate who to rent to. If this is the case, why does the agent ask me whether I want to rent to the people who submit an application?

Also if there are multiple interests in your property, how do you choose one application from another? There must be some reason for choosing one over another so isn't certain level of discrimination involved?

 

You cannot pick every applicant that applies, some may accuse you of discrimination however I like to think of it as risk management.

You aren't discriminating against certain tenants you are just choosing the best option for your personal situation/risk profile. As above the young couple weren't discriminated against there was just potentially a better choice on the table.

 

But if there was only one applicant at the time... you can't really turn that applicant down with the thinking there may be a better choice down the line?

Hypothetically your property is a 5 bedder house and you had an applicant who on paper can afford to rent the property, is only renting for themselves(occupancy of 1). Can you reject their application based on the fact that financially it is riskier to rent to one sole income earner than it is to a group of multiple income earners?

 

Sure you can. We do this frequently. I’d rather wait a week or two or more longer than rent to the only applicant at the present time.

 

Sure you can. It’s your property. You can decide. In practice the issue really is that you cannot let the applicants know your reason for declining to rent to them. You are not obligated to give a reason so just keep your mouth shut.

 

But surely they will ask why won't they? Even if you don't tell them the reason, you have to tell them "a" reason? Any reason can be deemed as discrimination if there are no other applicants at the time.

 

It was my practice to tell would be tenants applications would be put to the owners and they would choose the tenant. End of story.

 

No not at all. You may have been unhappy with a supplied reference for example.

 

It's an art. Right one, peace of mind. Wrong one, nightmare!

 

I personally view discrimination as refusing to rent to someone who is perfectly reasonable for unjust reasons like gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, hair colour, weight, height... the list goes on.

Having a single application doesn’t mean they’re the right application and declining them based on not being the right fit doesn’t fall into what I would consider discrimination.

Of course there’s other meanings to discrimination that aren’t so negative. But my view of the word is with a negative connotation.

 

Why do landlords / PMs never bother interviewing potential tennants?

I dont remeber ever actually meeting an owner (unless it was an owner-let) or PM before going into the office to sign a lease.

PMs just seem to send some uninterested kid from the office to hold the viewing, and then rely on 'references' for the rest?

It's almost like offering someone a job, but only meeting them for the first time on thier first day.

 

@MB18 I agree. Leasing is the most important part of the process and the letting agent should be chatting to people and selling the property, not just being a warm body to open the front door.

I don’t “interview” tenants, but I try to get a feel of what they’ll be like by talking to them and asking questions about their situation. Then I’ll pass this information back.

I was talking to a recruiter today who suggested I get a uni student to work Saturday’s so I don’t have to. So many people underestimate what is involved with leasing and think it’s perfectly acceptable to open a door and take a name.

 

1. Risk of damage, loss etc through poor tenancy is #1. (ie a party house)
2. Jobs and income
3. Background to support the above

Discrimination on financial (income or debt) or past property history is not discrimination but is a risk assessment. Discrimination for property is often encountered with single mums, certain race groups or personal bias eg gender identity etc

Discrimination happens when a person, or a group of people, is treated less favourably than another person or group because of their background or certain personal characteristics. This is known as ‘direct discrimination’. Example: An employer refused to hire a suitably qualified person as a shop assistant because they were Aboriginal, and instead hired a less qualified person of a different racial background. This could be racial discrimination.

It is also discrimination when an unreasonable rule or policy applies to everyone but has the effect of disadvantaging some people because of a personal characteristic they share. This is known as ‘indirect discrimination’.Example: A policy that says rentals are preferred to two income families could discriminate against single women with kids who are more likely to work part-time to accommodate their family responsibilities. A decision to not consider 4 adult males with jobs in bands is not likely to be discrimination if the owner and agent consider that the property use as a party home or band rehearsal venue could be a concern.

Discrimination can be against the law if it is based on a person’s:

• age
• disability, or
• race, including colour, national or ethnic origin or immigrant status
• sex, pregnancy, marital or relationship status, family responsibilities or breastfeeding
• sexual orientation, gender identity or intersex status.

​

 

This is a great discussion!

I personally think what we do is discriminate, take that word how you will, positively or negatively,- and whether we like to admit it or not, there is a lifetime of personal and professional experiences that lead us to make what we'd like to think is an "informed" decision on whether we believe applicants are suitable and/or ideal. This is based on what information we have available to us in a very short period of time with limited direct experience with the applicant(s).

Many factors we consider ARE stereotyping. For the purposes of an example I'll pick on a minority- there are a lot of single Mums in my area. Many of these ladies make fabulous tenants and are a total pleasure to work with, whilst many others tend to carry a lifetime of drama and problems with them which inevitably affect the tenancy.
Although there is no single characteristic that would instantly rule out a certain applicant, some characteristics do trigger further consideration into someones situation.

Out of curiosity, what are people's thoughts on the following situation:
We had an Indian family apply for a brand new property. The Landlord asked me to ensure that the Rangehoods were plumbed properly out (not just a recirc fan) due to the potential cooking odour. He was more than happy to accept their application and modify the property if necessary.
Would you consider that question racist, and would it make a difference if he wasn't willing to accept them because he didn't want to pay to modify the property?