An increasing number of management companies are utilizing criminal screening tools to improve the safety of their communities for residents, guests and staff. At the same time, it is imperative that management companies establish a criminal screening policy that treats applicants equally and fairly.
With most criminal screening tools, leasing agents are expected to make real-time decisions about what searches should be conducted and to determine if criminal offenders should receive an “accept” or “decline” leasing decision. This places undue burden on the agents and may increase the risk of Fair Housing violations, if searches are conducted or interpreted inconsistently. Consequently, many criminal screening tools expose multifamily businesses to unnecessary risk.
What to look for in a criminal screening solution? Look for a product that:
· Categorizes criminal records
· Return consistent leasing decisions based on your criteria
· Allow you to select the criminal offense categories that trigger the lease decision
· Automatically delivers a pre-set decision to your staff
Ideally, your criminal screening product should include management reporting to monitor screening outcomes and view the results by offense type. With this insight, you can monitor staff performance and adjust screening criteria to meet business and legal demands. For additional information on criminal screening tools, click here.
Equal Housing Opportunity