Legal Issues Facing Residential Landlords Related To Tenant Approvals | Las Vegas Property Management Services

Residential landlords in Las Vegas face many legal issues related to tenant approvals. The most important of these issues is compliance with fair housing laws, which prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, and familial status.

Below are some of the legal issues pertaining to tenant approvals for residential landlords:

Fair Housing Laws | Las Vegas Property Management Services

The Fair Housing Act (FHA) prohibits discrimination in housing on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, and familial status. This law applies to all aspects of renting, including advertising, tenant screening, and lease agreements.

Las Vegas Landlords must comply with the FHA when screening potential tenants. They cannot deny housing to anyone based on their race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, or familial status. They also cannot use any of these factors as a basis for setting different rental terms, such as rent amounts or security deposits.

Tenant Screening | Las Vegas Property Management Services

Tenant screening is an essential process for Las Vegas landlords to ensure that they select the right tenants for their rental properties. However, landlords must be careful to follow fair housing laws when screening potential tenants.

Landlords must use consistent and objective criteria when screening tenants. They cannot use personal biases or stereotypes to make screening decisions. For example, they cannot reject a potential tenant because of their race or religion.

Landlords must also provide equal screening opportunities to all potential tenants. They cannot treat one tenant differently than another based on their protected characteristics, such as disability or familial status.

Tenant Income Sources | Section 8

The Fair Housing Act (FHA) (42 U.S. Code § § 3601-3619 and 3631), a federal law, doesn’t bar landlords from discriminating based on Section 8. But some states and municipalities do, often as part of a broader ban on “source of income” or “public assistance status” under the state or local fair housing law. For example, Chicago’s municipal code includes a housing discrimination ban based on the source of income that includes applicants who have Section 8 vouchers.

Search online (start by checking the “State Information” section of the HUD website) and contact your local fair housing agency to see if the law protects prospects and tenants based on the fact they have Section 8 vouchers. (If you own multiple properties in different states, counties, or towns, be sure to check the law for each location.) If you learn that state and local laws don’t ban this type of discrimination, then it’s up to you to decide whether to accept applicants with Section 8 vouchers.

Reasonable | Habitable Accommodations

Las Vegas Landlords must provide reasonable accommodations to tenants with disabilities. Reasonable accommodations are changes to the rental property or policies that enable a tenant with a disability to use and enjoy the property.

Landlords must allow tenants with disabilities to make reasonable modifications to the rental property. For example, they must allow a tenant with a mobility disability to install grab bars in the bathroom.

Landlords must also provide reasonable accommodations to tenants with disabilities in their policies and procedures. For example, they must allow a tenant with a service animal to live in a rental property that otherwise prohibits pets.

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