How to Create a Non-Discriminatory Tenant Screening Process

When screening tenants for your rental property, it’s essential to have a legally compliant process that treats every applicant fairly. Screening everyone fairly means you aren’t making decisions that discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, or disability, since these are federally protected classes. 

Unfortunately, even accidental discrimination is still illegal, and courts rule against landlords in some situations. 

Here’s how you can protect your rental business and eliminate bias from your application process.

1. Create a written set of screening criteria

The best thing you can do to protect yourself is create written screening standards before you review the applications you receive and follow it to the letter. Having a written set of standards will make it easy for you to make decisions without relying on instinct, and can provide a clear record of how you make application decisions if an applicant questions their denial. Nobody ever expects to be reported or sued, but it happens. 

According to the National Fair Housing Alliance, disability-related discrimination claims made up 54.6% of all fair housing complaints in 2025.

Standard screening criteria include:

•     Income standards. Set the minimum income you’ll accept. Most landlords require 2-3 times the monthly rent. Apply these standards to everyone. If you want to allow for exceptions with an extra deposit, make sure you have written standards that outline how you’ll decide if someone qualifies for an exception. Don’t just let someone slide because you like them. 
•     Credit score requirements. Most landlords require a credit score of 650 or higher. If someone has no credit or bad credit, you can require an additional deposit. Just make sure to apply these standards uniformly.  
•     Required documents. Ask for the same documents from each applicant, like a photo ID, income records, rental history, and personal or professional references.
  
  ·     Explicit disqualifiers. Explain what might lead to an automatic denial, like previously unpaid rent, false information, or serious past lease violations.
  
  ·      Consistent application of rules. No matter what, don’t bend any of your rules for one applicant while enforcing them against another. The only exception is if you’ve created a documented set of standards that qualify for an exception.

All of this can be tough if you’re new to managing rental property. However, when you work with a professional property manager, they’ll already have a set of screening criteria, along with a process that helps them select quality tenants.

2. Use fair housing rules as your baseline

Federal and state fair housing rules should form the basis of your entire screening process. Avoid evaluating applicants based on personal traits and stick to income, rental history, credit, references, and former lease compliance. 

In your listings, never phrase your copy in a way that makes it look like you have a preference for a certain type of person. For example, don’t say a unit is “perfect for singles,” “ideal for young professionals,” or “good for quiet adults.” You should also avoid mentioning preferences for gender. These phrases are considered discrimination against people based on protected classes. 

If you hire anyone to run ads for your rental business, make sure they know the rules and review all ads before they go live.

3. Verify income the same way for everyone

When you start to move forward with an applicant and review their income, it’s important to do this consistently for everyone. It’s fine to accept multiple types of proof, but don’t require some for certain people and not others. For example, most landlords accept pay stubs, tax returns, bank statements, benefit letters, or verification directly from an employer. Depending on your area, you might also need to consider vouchers and benefits as valid sources of income.

The only exception is for self-employed individuals, which usually requires reviewing tax returns or accessing bank accounts through a third-party application since they don’t usually have pay stubs. Whether you approve or deny an applicant, document the reason and keep it for your records.

4. Consider credit and background reports carefully

Screening someone through background and credit checks is important, but these reports can contain errors. Many renters have reported being rejected over incorrect information that showed up in their background check. Use screening services that follow the Fair Credit Reporting Act and issue the required adverse action notice when something in a consumer report affects a denial or requires stricter rental terms. And if an applicant says something in their report is wrong, give them the chance to dispute it and have it corrected.

A clear screening process will support your business

Creating a non-discriminatory tenant screening process is easy when you form it around all applicable laws. Fair screening reduces your legal risk while helping you choose qualified tenants with confidence.