Most responsible property owners and managers use the three-tier approach of income, credit and background check to implement a fair and non discriminatory application protocol. Such application guidelines are well accepted and generally considered “best practice” guides for the housing industry. Individual and company guidelines will vary with risk tolerance levels, such as how many late payments are acceptable or what income ratio is appropriate. However some sort of combination of income, credit and background evaluation is the norm when evaluating a rental application.
The Social Media Fingerprint
Fast forward to 2010 and personal background information has now morphed into something more than before – the social media fingerprint. Today not only do we have an electronic fingerprint of our credit, but we have electronic versions of our personalities residing on the Internet. And they are public for the world to see and judge. How should the property owners and managers of today deal with this new type of personal information?
Today, many employers now include electronic social media investigations and searches as a routine part of their background evaluation of a prospective employee. It is only logical that property owners and landlords should also include some level of social media search for information about a prospective resident as part of their routine background verification. However, the prospective resident should be evaluated for their ability to follow the mandates of the lease and community rules and no more.
Limited Scope and Purpose
It is not the job of the landlord or owner to make personal judgments or to determine if a prospective resident will “fit in.” Whatever that means, that’s going too far. A social media or electronic background review should be limited in scope to obvious “red flags” such as inconsistencies in background information revealing potential identity theft issues, or to obvious behavioral issues suggesting the prospect would be unable or unwilling to follow the proposed rental agreement.
The Challenge
This is not an easy road to walk. This is new ground and undoubtedly mistakes will be made. Some landlords will go too far, using social media information to reject prospective residents for inappropriate or legally impermissible reasons. Some landlords will not investigate at all. An inappropriate resident will be approved, engage in dangerous behavior that was foreseeable, and the landlord will be sued by the injured party. It will take time, trial and error to get the delicate balance between unacceptable social media evaluation and social media privacy; if there is such a thing as social media privacy.
The Future
Over time, the acceptable guidelines and uses of social media information will be developed through routine practice and the Courts. Eventually the government will codify rules and provide some safe harbors and guidelines, but only after the use of social media to evaluate prospective residents becomes commonplace. In the interim, we will all struggle with developing rules that allow us to make reasonable inquiries and good application decisions, backed by sound business judgment.
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Do you have a prospective resident social media background investigation protocol? Have ideas on what might be included? If so, please share them through the Comments feature.