If a potential tenant has very bad credit history, can the landlord raise the rent due to this?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
If a potential tenant has very bad credit history, can the landlord raise the rent due to this?
I am the landlord’s realtor and have a rental application from a person with horrible credit. I have a couple questions about a rental I have. Can my client landlord raise the rent price due to this circumstance? The property has a pool. Can my client ask the tenant to pay for the weekly maintenance provided by a certified pool company? If not, can the landlord tell the tenant that the pool cannot be used? Also, due to the credit issues, is it legal to have tenant pay for a home warranty to make sure house is covered just in case something goes wrong?
Asked on October 4, 2016 under Real Estate Law, Virginia
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 8 years ago | Contributor
You can't treat poor credit applicants worse than good credit applicants in terms of amount of rent, security deposit, or requiring insurance or a home warranty; doing so may run afoul of laws or court decisions which prevent taking advantage of those with poor credit. But landlords retain wide discretion to reject applicants whom for one reason or another they feel are bad risks. You client can refuse to rent to this person, but if he does rent to him, it must be on the same terms as to others. In my experience as a NJ landlord-tenant attorney, people who are bad credit risks arr bad risks for a reason; a landlord should not rent to bad credit risks, since doing so creates a great risk of being stiffed on rent or damages.
Requiring tenants to pay for pool maintenance or not use the pool is legal and a good idea.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.