Do Fair Housing Laws Excuse Us From Doing the Right Thing?

One day I received a call from a man who stated that his application for an apartment was declined because he was a convicted felon and a registered sex offender. He wanted to know if I would reconsider his application. While I was apprehensive at first I let him tell his story. He started by saying that he's 45 years old and has been an upstanding citizen since he committed his crime nearly 27 years ago. He went to say that he's married and has been a successful manager with the same company for more than 10 years. He also told me he had impeccable credit history. When he was in college he and his buddies thought it would be funny to go streaking through the football field during a game. He and his buddies did not understand the consequences of their actions until after they were arrested, tried and convicted of a sex offense. Finally, he said that he was very sorry for what he had done and wanted to know if he could rent the apartment.

Sure I could have easily said "I'm sorry we cannot make any exceptions to our rule of no felony convictions," but I could not shake the remorse I heard in his voice and sense of frustration over the number of times he's tried to explain himself. You see by the time he came to me his application had been rejected many times over. Secretly, I wanted to laugh about his crime. Oh come on how many stupid ideas did you have as a teenager? However, this was no laughing matter. This was his life. After I checked out his story I made an exception and accepted his application for residency. It wasn't the first time nor was it the last time I made such exceptions.

Don't get me wrong. I do support consistent practices when it comes to screening and approving/declining applications for residency. The company's I've worked for like many others have a standard set of criteria and yes, we use a third party credit screening and scoring company to provide our Community Managers with a decision. However with our company an electronic decision resulting in a decline of an application does not mean an automatic rejection of the application. Clearly for some companies, it does.

Efforts to apply fair housing laws have unfortunately given way to such mind numbing practices as relying on computer generated decisions to approve or decline applications. More and more people today are failing to meet their credit obligations for one reason or another. Those companies that do not recognize the need to have their people review electronic decisions that result in a decline will lose many opportunities to fill their homes with otherwise good residents.

‘Dumbing down' the criteria for acceptance to approve a larger share of applicants is not the answer. Another reliable way we have found to reconsider an electronically declined application is to apply the following types of exceptions:

1. If the credit screening company can verify or if prospective resident can prove with proper documentation that the information leading to the decline of the application is incorrect.
2. If prospective resident has a written payment plan for the account(s) in question and can prove with proper documentation that they have successfully fulfilled at least a portion of the payment plan by making a payment.
3. If prospective resident can prove that he/she paid off the creditor(s) in question.
4. If prospective resident is no longer responsible for the bad debt. If he/she can show with proper documentation (i.e. a divorce decree or court order) showing that he/she is not responsible for the bad account(s) leading to the decision to decline of the application.
5. Certain non-violent felony and misdemeanor convictions.  

Those prospects that are willing to pay off or work out a payment plan with their creditor(s) are no less risky than those that have met the credit criteria. Requiring an additional deposit is always wise.

Each company needs to identify what exceptions will be applied so that reconsideration of a declined application can made in a fair and consistent way. In order to make exceptions, one needs to understand their company's application acceptance criteria and the reasons for each application's denial.

Other options such as requiring a co-signer or prepaid rent from those with poor credit is NOT recommended. Unfortunately many (not all) people who are irresponsible in paying back their debts are also not responsible in many other aspects of their lives. The risk of damages, petty crimes and neighbor disturbances is too great. Please note that these people are different from those that are simply unable to pay their creditors back due to lack of income. I'm willing to forgo opportunities to rent in lieu of these options and that decision is not computer generated, it is experience generated.

When companies allow their representatives to use their good moral judgment to help prospective residents in need these are the types of people they will touch http://www.apartmentratings.com/rate/GA-Roswell-Martins-Landing-792557.html.

Now go do the right thing.