According to New Jersey Digest, Red Bank, NJ, is the "greatest city outside of NYC." It has cleaner air, is more prosperous, and is the "more respectful, residential version" of the Big Apple."
With all those excellent attributes, it's easy to see how Red Bank's population will continue to grow. As it does, so will its prospective pool of renters.
So, if you own property here, why not rent it out? Carefully selecting renters with a thorough tenant background check will allow you to generate stable, long-term rental income.
PMI Inspired's Red Bank property management experts have shared tenant screening tips to help you get started, so read on.
Learn What You Can't Do Under the FCHA
FCHA stands for Fair Chance in Housing Act (NJ Statutes 46:8-52 to 64).
The FCHA prohibits housing providers from inquiring into potential tenants' criminal histories during the initial rental application process. Understanding what you, as a landlord, cannot do under this law is critical to ensuring you abide by NJ tenant laws.
Under the Act, you cannot ask about criminal histories during initial interviews or on application materials. Also, you can never consider the following:
- Arrests or charges that didn't lead to convictions
- Expunged convictions or those erased with executive pardon
- Legally nullified or vacated convictions
- Juvenile adjudications of delinquency
- Sealed records
Understand What You Can Do Under the FCHA
You can ask about drug-related criminal convictions during the initial screening process. However, they must have been for methamphetamine production or manufacture in federally assisted housing premises. You can also ask if they're subject to a lifetime registration to a state's sex offender registry.
After the initial application, you can delve deeper into an applicant's criminal history. However, you can only do so after making a conditional offer. You must also provide applicants with a disclosure statement about your rental eligibility criteria, including criminal history assessments.
If applicants agree, you can push through with the criminal background check. However, you may only consider withdrawing the offer based on convictions of severe crimes listed in the FCHA guide provided by the NJ Department of Law & Public Safety.
Implement a Consistent Tenant Background Check Process
You must always screen tenants using the same process. Otherwise, you risk violating the federal Fair Housing Act (FHA).
For example, let's say you include the following in your tenant screening process:
- FCHA-compliant criminal background checks
- Credit score and history assessments
- Rental and eviction history checks
- Employment and income verification
If you conduct all those when screening one applicant, you must do the same for all others. If doing so seems like a lot of work, you can always outsource the process to professionals. For example, if you partner with us at PMI Inspired, you can rest assured our property management experts will screen tenants thoroughly and comply with all laws.
Outsource Your Tenant Screening Process
With so many laws surrounding tenant background check processes in Red Bank, NJ, it's easy to make a mistake that could violate them.
So, don't risk it. Let the experts at our full-service property management company, PMI Inspire, handle the screening process for you. We're a proud franchisee of PMI, a larger national property management company managing over $5 billion in real estate assets.
Speak with us today for a free rental property consultation!
