Should Your Rental Screening Criteria Change Due to COVID-19?

Proven multifamily screening techniques are essential today, but should rental screening criteria change due to COVID-19? Yes. And with some special sauce for good measure. During normal economic conditions, the apartment industry routinely relies on verifying employment through pay stubs provided by the applicant and checking for eviction notices on screening reports. However, operators today are rethinking how they vet applicants because millions have lost their jobs. At issue is the dilemma of maintaining occupancy when a prospective renter comes knocking. During a downturn, the temptation to relax screening criteria heightens, but the risk outweighs the reward. Bryan Davis, who manages information technology at CF Real Estate Services, says that fraudulent applications are on the rise and they’re taking on new shapes. “One of the biggest ways that we're seeing is pay stubs that are not legitimate, people using falsified identities, of course, using deceased persons for their identity,” he said on a recent webcast. “One that we're seeing more and more now, unfortunately, is the use of family members, or even children, to apply for an apartment using the child's credit to apply.” The uptick is moving some to take verification a step farther and make physical checks instead of relying on a piece of paper provided by the applicant. While the information may be legitimate, the risk is too great not to fully assess. Reaching occupancy goals may seem like a good thing, but not always. If a portion of renters are living on the fringe or are without jobs, the risk becomes greater for the property, especially if there is another COVID-19 outbreak. “If that were to happen, now you have a lot of people at your property that may not be able to pay in case of a downslide again,” said JVM Realty Vice President of Information Management Kortney Balas. Scrutinizing rental screening criteria and adhering to stringent ve...