The application process for renting an apartment in the United States includes reports on credit, rental histories, previous evictions and criminal background checks. Of these, criminal background checks are one of the most important determinant’s in leasing to applicants.
Professional Background Services, LLC can perform these record checks for you.
I rented my home for the summer to a seemingly nice family with two small children. I didn’t know when we signed the rental agreement that the husband had recently been convicted for securities fraud and was scheduled to do prison time while his wife & children would be renting my home. When they moved out the damages were in excess of the security deposit (kids crayoned on walls, dog dug holes & soiled carpets & so forth) I could have lived with this, but in addition since it was a furnished summer rental we had an agreement for them to pay the phone bill well shortly after they moved out I received a phone bill for $3,100.00. Apparently the husband was making collect calls from prison several times a day! This rental came from a reputable Real estate company and I assumed (wrongly) that the real estate company would have some background info on their clients. How could your service have helped me avoid this unfortunate experience?
Consider the following statistics from the Department of Justice:
- U.S. Criminal Statistics
- A murder is committed every 19 minutes.
- A rape is committed every 6 minutes.
- A violent crime is committed every 19 seconds.
- A theft is committed every 4 seconds.
- A property crime is committed every 3 seconds.
U.S. Recidivism Statistics
- Within three years, 67.5% of prisoners were rearrested for new offenses (almost exclusively felonies or serious misdemeanors).
- Within three years, 2.5% of released rapists were arrested for another rape.
- Within three years, 1.2% of those who had served time for homicide were arrested for another homicide.
- The 272,111 offenders discharged in 1994 had accumulated 4.1 million arrest charges before their most recent imprisonments and another 744,000 charges within three years of release.
- Released prisoners with the highest re-arrest rate were robbers (70.2%), burglars (74.0%), larcenists (74.6%), and motor vehicle thieves (78.8%).
A Department of Justice report also noted that 48% of the households broken into were rental units.
The importance of criminal background checks cannot be overstated. Property owners owe it to their residents and employees to protect them from foreseeable harm. Failure to do so could constitute a breach of contract. In apartment owner premises liability suits, the average non-jury award is $500,000; the average jury award is $1 million.
Why should you do criminal background checks? The National Multi Housing Council (NMHC), the National Apartment Association (NAA), and other industry organizations agree that convicted criminals pose a risk to the residents and employees of multifamily housing communities. Criminal background checks help reduce crimes on apartment premises, mitigate liability, minimize exposure, and improve property values.
ALWAYS verify tenants by doing proper Background checks.
Something to remember – no tenant at all is better than a bad one Don’t learn this the hard way!!