I’m looking for rental housing in an area where demand is so high, rape-the-renter is the operative paradigm. What I keep getting asked for is a credit report AND a background check AND a rental history AND my bank statements AND my pay stubs blah blah blah–this in addition to three month’s rent upfront (some of which is styled a “deposit”–as if I have a prayer of getting it back). I’m also asked to pay a “processing fee” of $50 or so to even be CONSIDERED as a potential renter–money that’s gone for good regardless of the outcome (and I can’t even get the reports to show to another prospective landlord and maybe save that expense next time–the landlord/rental agency says that those reports are their property, not mine, even though I paid for them!!!).
In disgust, I have said that I’m willing to provide all this information if the landlord provides that same information to me as well. Is this unreasonable? After all, I’m more vulnerable to a crooked landlord that any landlord is vulnerable to my being a crook. In the former case, my home is at stake; in the latter case, a portion of the landlord’s cash flow. I actually think that I’m entitled to know if I’m dealing with a reputable individual/company, especially if they demand to know everything about me. Yet, I get either incredulous stares or laughter when I say that I want a credit check and background check on my prospective landlord (and before anyone yeeps that my landlord isn’t applying for credit with me, neither am I applying for credit with him; the deposit is supposed to cover any financial shortfall he may experience anyway).
No it’s not, you could easily cost them a lot more money than the amount of the deposit. Otherwise why would they care about these things? Sure it’s in their interest to charge a “processing fee” and shit like that, but they’re not just asking you for your rental history and paystubs for fun.
I assume you are just venting. Perhaps you can ask your banker for a credit report next time you want to borrow money.
Do you honestly believe anyone would want to rent to someone who asked for those things? The very fact that you ask for them is a big red flag that you are nothing but trouble. At least that is how they will see it.
You do realize you’ll be living in something that costs hundred of thousands of dollars?
If demand is high - there is a reason - and they don’t need you. None of what they as asking for is unreasonable. I’m not sure what type of background check they’d be running though.
There are usually laws on deposits. And fair housing. If they are violating one of them - by all means report them.
I would, in fact, want to know something about the bank from which I am borrowing money. But the analogy is inapt. When renting an apartment, I am NOT borrowing anything. I am buying something, and PAYING WELL IN ADVANCE FOR IT, at that. No one is extending me credit–the opposite, in fact. (As far as whether or not what they’re asking for is unreasonable–courts in several states have ruled that it is not, in fact, reasonable to require certain types of personal history and background checks–Oregon, for example, doesn’t allow the pulling of credit reports, since–again–the renter is not applying for credit.)
No, no one would want to rent to someone who asked those questions. That doesn’t mean those questions are unreasonable–it just illustrates how unequal the power relationship is.
Re the value of the building–I assume that’s what insurance is for. A baseball stadium costs hundreds of millions of dollars to build, but I don’t have to buy baseball fan’s insurance along with my ticket–even though I COULD–I guess–destroy the entire place by carelessness or malfeasance. Especially if my credit rating is low.
The “protections” of deposit limits and fair housing acts are a joke. If they want more swag from you, all they have to do is call it a “processing fee” or “required lease prepayment” or some such tommyrot, and since it’s magically now no longer a “deposit,” that’s just fine. And any landlord can point out a billion “legitimate” reasons why he didn’t rent to you, without violating the Fair Housing Act. And since you don’t have a home, you’re not likely to bring an action against someone that refuses to rent to you–you’ll just go somewhere else.
And what happens when they say no? They can just send you on your way and go on to the next potential renter. From what you wrote, there are plenty of other renters out there and a relatively limited supply of landlords. They’ve got the upper hand and they don’t have to be reasonable.
No, even with these fees, the landlord would collect more in the long run from a regular tenant. So this is basically just bonus money.
There’s probably some additional money exchanging hands under the table. If the landlord has twenty people who are all willing to move in then whoever ends up getting the apartment will probably be the person who slipped the landlord an extra envelope of money to move to the head of the list.
And they could easily cost me thousands of dollars in a variety of ways; yet, I have no protection against and no recourse for whatever they might do to me.
And if the deposit doesn’t cover every conceivable eventuality (and I regard with incredulity the concept that I should be required to do so), I would question what reason other than “because they can” exists for them requiring it at all.
What they are doing is attempting to make their cash flow a certainty, which they really can’t do, any more than I can make their remaining in business and/or continuing to operate the rental property in a timely and responsible manner a certainty. Can THEY absolutely guarantee that THEY won’t breach the rental contract? (And no, it’s not vastly, or even slightly, more likely that the renter rather than the landlord will breach the contract.)
tralfamidor, venting on a messageboard won’t do much good.
Find out who gets paid to prevent this kind of thing. Your congressperson? Your county’s housing department? Make a well documented file, with names and dates, find some similarly screwed over potential renters, call yourself a group and present your case with a reasonable claim (for instance, that “processing” fees should be outlawed and that there should be more reasonable rules for how high a deposit is and, on the other hand, how a landlord could claim damages with proof if they are higher then the average deposit.
To solve your own situation now; ok, so what you’re doing now isn’t helping and is only making you more angry. You could strike out lucky next time, but chances are you will only approach the next landlord in hostile and sullen overtones that will sabotage your chance of renting just as much as if you were dating, Sullen Seething Nice-Guy-style.
So what else could you do? Well, offer yourself up as a roommate. Ask through people you know, people on facebook. There are plenty of home-owners out there struggling to meet the mortgage ends every month. If you could present yourself as the solution to that problem, it’s a win-win. Of course, for that people have to know you (even if it is through a recommentation) and you have to be somewhat likable.
You don’t? Why not? The lease should provide you legal protections, and renter’s insurance will protect your property, so why are you so vulnerable?
Bottom line: if the place burns to the ground they’re out a hugely expensive building, loss of revenue from other tenants, and who knows what else; you’re out a few grand in furniture and clothes. They’re more diligent because they’re taking much more risk and try as you might you’ll never be able to rationalize the risks as equal for both parties.
Gather whatever information you are willing to provide to any potential landlord and then shop around for a rental situation that requires nothing more. In every town and city there are accommodations available for less red tape. They may not suit your housing desires, it’s true. You’ll have to decide which to compromise on, in the end, just like everyone else.
People have to jump through hoops in our society for a lot of things, that’s just how it is. Think of what was involved in getting a drivers licence, or adopting a child, taking a wife, getting a mortgage, etc, etc. Its not like those experiences don’t carry the same, as you’ve called it, “imbalance” between the parties. And it’s certainly not that every person here hasn’t felt that screaming, “How can it be this way? Why is this so seemingly unnecessarily hard?”, while weaving their way through one of these events. They all feel it too, so it’s not just you, if that helps any.
And many have indeed. Raged against the process, or simply found another path, (like just living together rather thank address the whole marriage hoop jumping through! )
It’s going to come down to which is better for you to compromise on, getting the housing you fancy, or not having to jump through the hoops? Jumping through hoops will be annoying for a couple of days, living somewhere you don’t fancy will be annoying every damn day! But it’s your call to make.
I’m vulnerable because if I’m forced to move by the landlord, for reasons he is or isn’t entitled to invoke, I have no home and may lose whatever property I can’t carry away in my car. My living costs will skyrocket in the short term, and I may be unable to rent another place as I won’t be able to use him as a reference.
“If the place burns to the ground” as a result of my evil tenantly negligence–how likely is that? And what about insurance, which if it’s decent insurance would cover that loss of revenue?
The bottom line is that I have a significant chance of being screwed over and whatever remedies I theoretically have being in practice, useless (ever tried to file a small claims action without having an address?), while the landlord has a tiny, tiny risk of significant damage to his property as a result of my malfeasance. (Really, how many apartment buildings have burned to the ground in your neighborhood?)
It all comes down to power. The renter has none; the owner has it all. Thus, I am forced to approach the landlord, hat in hand, as a supplicant who is begging for a place to be allowed to stay. I then have to “prove,” by providing reams of personal information, that I’m not some kind of miscreant scum who will sully the apartment and poop on the rug. This, while I have no idea if the person to whom I am providing this info is a convicted child rapist, professional fraud, etc. I have no info on whether the renting company/owner of the building is legitimate, pays its taxes, is not on the verge of bankruptcy, etc. etc. etc. Am I unreasonable to request the same information of them as they request of me? Apparently, everyone here thinks so!!!
I think many people would disagree with this assessment. Besides, by renting you have limited investment, flexibility to pick up and move, and few legal responsibilities as a tenant compared to a landlord. The landlord has sunk capital, significant liabilities, and risk of market turndown, disaster, and ongoing maintenance.
You could re-write that as “It all comes down to investment. The renter has none; the owner has it all.”
I’m pretty sure you can just tell the prospective landlords “no, you won’t provide that information” Just like they can tell you when you ask for their info “no we won’t provide you that information”
I say, go ahead and ask for it; both parties have the right to refuse to provide the information or enter the contract
If they don’t provide the information…don’t sign the contract…
Just like if you don’t provide the information, they don’t have to sign the contract.
If I was a landlord, my reaction to such a request would be “this guy’s a problem looking to happen”, and to dismiss you as a smart-ass. Why would a landlord bother with someone who is creating a problem for him before the first rent payment?