I received an offer from a prospective tenant to pay an entire year’s lease up front. This seemed like a good offer to me, so I had basically decided I would rent to this tenant (before I had checked her background). I was, however, uncomfortable with the fact that she was unable to provide proof of income/employment, but dismissed this as she “claimed” to be a self-employed model.
As I started checking into her background, however, it seems that she falsely represented her occupation on the application. On her application, she stated she is a model…however after digging deeper, I discovered that she is actually an exotic dancer.
I don’t feel entirely comfortable renting to her based on this new information. Not only did she fail to disclose her true occupation, but I’m concerned about the type of personal lifestyle she might lead and what might occur in the confines my property.
Based on the above, what would you advise? Should the fact that she wants to pay the whole year in advance be enough to counter my concerns that she lied about her occupation? Assuming her credit report is okay, is my discomfort with the entire situation grounds to deny her application? …Or am I being discriminatory?
In the vast majority of the United States, “Strippers” are not a protected class. Therefore, you are free to discriminate at will. However, I’m not sure that being a stripper is a good reason to eliminate this person from consideration. Claiming that she was a model is not much of a stretch from exotic dancer and her claim of being self-employed may be 100% true (or maybe not). I don’t know if strippers are independent contractors or not.
I’m ALWAYS suspicious when someone offers to pay more than is required. That sets off MAJOR ALARM BELLS for me, and usually there is a good reason for that. If you have any better applicants, I’d simply take one of them. If not, then I’d do a thorough credit check, CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECK, employment check, etc. If she’s not a criminal and hasn’t been evicted in the past, I’d take her.
My first guess would be she is embarassed about her “craft” which explains why she stretched the truth. If she has the money to pay the entire year’s rent, she must be good at her job (move her in your own house!). I wouldn’t be concerned about her “personal lifestyle” as long as she doesn’t do anything illegal, damaging, or against the lease. There are worse things than stripping for thousands of dollars a night to worry about.
How many “actressess” in LA are currently working in the food service and hospitality industries? Harrison Ford once supported himself as a carpenter while he was struggling to establish his acting career. Why couldn’t your applicant really be an aspiring model by day, just moonlighting as an exotic dancer?
Your tenant obviously does not flaunt her (backup) job. And because she doesn’t I would guess that she is just attempting to guard her privacy. If I were in your position, I would confidently rent to this person. If she is in a position to pay an entire year in advance and passes your criminal background and credit screening, how badly can you be damaged versus renting to any other tenant with a more mainstream occupation?
Perhaps your personal prejudices are clouding your business sense. Getting a whole year of rent in advance which you can invest gives you a much greater income yield than if you just get your cash flow monthly.
A business partner has rented to strippers many times. He tells they are generally good tennants but their lifestyle attracts the wrong type of boyfriends whom ultimately cause problems for the landlord.
This is ABSOLUTELY discrimination! You’re discriminating based on employment and that is TOTALLY ILLEGAL!
What if she was a sewer worker? Would you say no because you’d worry that your house would get too smelly? For such people you could have got a legal Residential Lease Agreement form filled. I’ve got my form for my tenants from ezlandlordforms.com. You can also download the forms.
And-as for her not being honest-most exotic dancers are also models-so she’s really not telling a lie.
Here is what the federal anti-discrimination law says:
“Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (Fair Housing Act), as amended, prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of dwellings, and in other housing-related transactions, based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status (including children under the age of 18 living with parents of legal custodians, pregnant women, and people securing custody of children under the age of 18), and handicap (disability).”
Unless you’re aware of a state law that specifically lists ‘place of employment’, then you are wrong. It is perfectly legal (although not terribly smart) to discriminate against strippers or sewer workers. Place of employment is not a protected class. If you’re going to be in the rental business, you need to KNOW this stuff. It is important.
As I said in my post, I would not disqualify someone because she was a stripper (or a sewer worker). I am concerned about getting the rent; that the property is taken care of; and that no illegal activities are conducted on my property.
Mike,
Based on that information, is that how people can set up things like over age 55 mobile home parks? Or sometimes you see “mature adult need only apply”? Can you disqualify someone because you’re afraid a young person, say age 21 or so, might be destructive to the property?
Strippers are a protected class in any state with source of income protection that defines income as income from any lawful source. The other protected income definition is limited to public assistance recipients only. Some states don’t protect source of income at all.
The seniors only parks have a special exclusion from fair housing laws.
One city in MD has a municipal ordinace which makes “source of income” a protected class. As a landlord with rental property in that city, you can not refuse to accept an application from a Section 8 tenant just because you are uncomfortable renting to Section 8.
In this city, the source of income protection would also apply to the stripper.
Exotic Dancer and Stripper are two different things. If she lied on the application, then you have the right to not rent to her. The same as a credit app. You probably would’nt have a problem with her since they tend to keep their lifestyle quiet. Bottom line, it’s your call.
It’s too late for Jeremiah (I wonder how this worked out for him).
There is no legitimate reason for anyone to ever offer a year’s rent in advance. The only possible reason to offer such a big chunk of money is to blind the landlord with greed so he doesn’t do the background and credit checks.
Normal tenants do not have enough cash to pay a year in advance. Drug dealers, alien smugglers, and porno producers have enough cash to pay a year’s rent in advance. They like to do that, hoping the landlord won’t come around looking at what is going on.
If a tenant had cash-- say they just sold their house-- they aren’t going to give a year’s rent. They are going to put that money in the bank and pay month by month.
Your application should say on it, at the end of the application and right above the signature, in large letters that any falsehood on the application is grounds to reject or evict. Then you don’t have to worry about a legal reason to reject a liar.
(college students who are living on grants will pay one semester in advance. That is different. You can verify that they are enrolled in school and that they are receiving the grant money)