Tenant screening sounds simple until you actually have to defend a decision. Florida landlords operate under a layered set of rules — the federal Fair Housing Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), and Florida's own Fair Housing statute (Sections 760.20–760.37) — all applying simultaneously. Get the process right and you protect both your property and yourself from a discrimination or compliance complaint. Get it wrong, and inconsistent screening is one of the most common ways landlords end up in legal trouble, even unintentionally.
Here's what our underwriting process actually covers, and why each step exists.
The screening steps
Written consent, before anything else
Before we run any credit or background check, the applicant signs written authorization. This isn't a formality — the FCRA requires explicit consent before pulling a credit or background report, and skipping this step is a compliance violation regardless of intent.
Credit history
We review credit history against consistent, written criteria applied to every applicant equally — not judgment calls made case by case. Uniform, documented standards are what actually hold up if a decision is ever questioned.
Income verification
We confirm income is sufficient and stable enough to support the lease — protecting owners from placements that are likely to result in missed rent down the line.
Rental history
Previous landlords are contacted to confirm payment history and how the applicant treated a prior property — information a credit report alone won't surface.
Background screening
This is the step where the law requires the most care. Florida allows criminal background checks, but a blanket policy disqualifying anyone with any record can violate Fair Housing guidance around disparate impact. Florida Statute 83.425 specifically prohibits blanket bans based only on arrests without convictions. Each record is evaluated individually — considering relevance to tenancy, severity, and time elapsed — never used as an automatic disqualifier.
Adverse action notice, if declined
If an application is denied based on a credit or background report, the applicant receives a proper FCRA adverse action notice identifying the reporting agency and their dispute rights. This is a legal requirement, not a courtesy.
What we never do
- Reject an applicant based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, or disability — the protected classes under the Fair Housing Act.
- Apply a blanket "no criminal history" policy regardless of what the record actually shows.
- Run a credit or background check without signed consent first.
- Apply different screening standards to different applicants for the same property.
Why this matters for owners
A property manager who screens loosely isn't doing you a favor by "moving fast" — they're passing risk directly onto you. A bad tenant placement costs far more in missed rent, property damage, and eviction costs than the extra week it takes to screen properly. And a screening process that isn't documented and consistently applied exposes an owner to fair housing liability regardless of who technically made the decision.
The standard we hold every application to
Every applicant across every property goes through the same six steps above — no exceptions, no shortcuts for a property that's been vacant too long. That consistency is what protects both your investment and your legal standing.