// screening
One written standard, applied in order, to every file. It is how you get a good tenant and stay out of court.
Screening is where a landlord's instincts cause the most trouble. The law is specific about what you may ask and what you may not, and a tenant who is denied for the wrong reason has a claim. We screen every applicant against a written standard that is set before the listing goes live, verify income and credit through the same process for every file, treat lawful source of income as income under SB 329, and document each decision. A good tenant is the result of a consistent process, not a good feeling.
Before we list, you and we agree the criteria in writing: the income multiple required (verified gross income against rent), the credit floor, how many years of rental history, what prior evictions or judgments disqualify, and whether a co-signer is accepted. Every applicant who completes a file is measured against that document in the order their applications were completed. The first one who meets it gets the unit. If two or more complete files arrive together, the standard still decides, not the owner's preference between them.
We verify identity, income, credit, rental history and public eviction records. We ask the same questions of every applicant. We do not ask about, and we do not let an application form hint at, race, national origin, religion, family status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, age or any other protected class. Under SB 329 a Section 8 voucher or other lawful source of income is income, and we calculate the income requirement on the applicant's share of the rent. Call recording in California requires all-party consent, so reference calls are not recorded without it. Every denial is given in writing with the reason.
Most files are a clear yes or no. Some sit on the line: income slightly short, a credit report with one old collection, a thin rental history because the applicant is new to the area. The standard says in advance what happens: a co-signer who meets the income test, a larger reserve shown in a bank statement, or a denial. We do not hold a borderline file open while hoping for a better one, and we do not let an owner's call tip the outcome. If the standard is too tight for the market, we change the standard, in writing, for every future applicant, not for one person.
// questions
The multiple is set with you in the written standard, applied to verified gross income. For voucher holders and others with lawful subsidy, the test is applied to the applicant's share of the rent, as SB 329 requires. We will tell you if the multiple you want is above what the local market is producing.
You can attend showings. You cannot choose between applicants, and we ask that you not interview them. A conversation that touches on children, religion, where someone is from or a disability is exactly how a fair-housing complaint starts, even when nothing improper was intended.
California law requires it. SB 329 makes a housing voucher a lawful source of income that cannot be the basis for a denial. The applicant is screened on credit, rental history and the income test applied to their portion of the rent, like everyone else.
The standard says in advance how prior evictions and judgments are treated, and we apply it. It is the same rule for every applicant, and the reason for any denial is given in writing.
// also
Rent, repairs, statements, renewals and every local filing, handled for a percentage of rent collected.
Priced to the market, screened to a written standard, leased with the notices your city requires.
The cap, the registry, the fee and the notice for your unit, each on its own calendar.
A 24-hour line, licensed vendors, your approval threshold, and the vendor's invoice with nothing added.
Rent in online on the first, late notices under the local rules, and a statement you can hand to your CPA.
One written standard, applied in order, to every file. It is how you get a good tenant and stay out of court.
// start here
What your place should rent for, what the city will let you charge next year, and what we would do first. Written, within one business day.
// next step
A written rental analysis for your property, free, within one business day. No obligation and no sales call unless you ask for one.