A statement of qualifying criteria is another important document that all landlords should have. When someone notices your property for rent and expresses an interest in that home, you can send this statement of qualifying criteria to that person. It’s something you should provide to all potential renters before you even agree to show them the property. This allows any hopeful tenants to view the criteria that they’ll have to meet. They can look at your list and decide whether they will qualify for your property. Your statement can save everyone a lot of time.
Another benefit to having this statement of qualifying criteria updated and accessible is that it will help you stay consistent in your tenant selection. The statement makes it a lot easier for you to follow fair housing laws. At Cape Shore Property Management, we like this form because it stops any potential applicants from trying to get away with something. This form is like a wall and bad tenants won’t be able to get past it. We keep our standards very clear so all tenants know what we are looking for when we screen. It’s obvious that we’re thorough, so undesirable tenants will likely not bother applying.
Here’s what we include on our statement of qualifying criteria:
- The monthly gross income of any applicant must be at least three times the amount of rent. The tenant will know right away if he or she earns enough to rent a unit from us.
- An applicant must have a minimum of one year of verifiable rental history. If there is any negative rental history, evictions or outstanding money owed to a former landlord, a tenant won’t qualify. Many potentially bad tenants will avoid filling out our application if they don’t have good landlord references.
- Applicants must live in the unit and they have to disclose all the other people who will be living there.
- We notify all applicants that a criminal background check will be conducted on anyone who is 18 years or older. Any felonies within the last five years will result in a rejection.
The criteria we use to screen our tenants have worked well for us. We are constantly updating our statement of qualifying criteria and we suggest you do the same to reflect the changes in any laws or best practices within the property management field. If you have any questions or need any help with your own statement, please contact us at Cape Shore Property Management.
