Tenant Screening Criteria Template: Written Standards, Applied Consistently

Introduction

Written screening criteria do two jobs at once: they produce better tenants, and they are the documentation that defends you if an applicant claims discrimination.

TL;DR: Decide your standards before you see an application, publish them, and apply them to every applicant identically. Undocumented judgement calls are how landlords end up with both bad tenants and fair housing complaints — because "I had a bad feeling" is not a criterion and cannot be defended.

Why written criteria matter legally

The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits decisions based on race, colour, national origin, religion, sex, familial status or disability. Many states and cities add more — source of income, sexual orientation, age, criminal history limits, and in a growing number of jurisdictions, restrictions on using credit scores at all.

The defence against a complaint is not good intentions. It is a written standard that predates the application and a record showing it was applied the same way to everyone. Inconsistency is the evidence a plaintiff needs, and it is created by exactly the kind of ad hoc flexibility that feels reasonable at the time.

Check your state and city rules before adopting anything below. Several of these criteria are restricted or prohibited in some jurisdictions.

The template

Publish this with every listing and include it on the application.

Income

• Gross monthly income of at least 3x the monthly rent
• Verified by two most recent pay stubs, or an offer letter, or two years of returns if self-employed
• Combined household income counted for all adult applicants together
• Housing vouchers and benefits counted as income where required by law — many jurisdictions mandate this

Credit

• Minimum score of 620
• No open collections from a previous landlord or utility
• Open bankruptcy is a decline; discharged bankruptcy over 2 years is acceptable
• Medical collections excluded from consideration

Rental history

• Two years of verifiable history, contacted directly
• No eviction filings in the last 5 years
• No balance owed to a previous landlord
• No more than two late payments in the last 12 months
• First-time renters may substitute a qualified co-signer

Occupancy and use

• Maximum 2 occupants per bedroom plus 1 for the unit
• All occupants 18+ must apply and qualify
• Pet policy: [state it — type, size, count, deposit or fee]
• Smoking: [state it]

Identity and eligibility

• Government-issued photo ID
• Application complete and fee paid
• Criminal history reviewed individually where permitted — blanket bans are restricted in many jurisdictions and disfavoured under HUD guidance

The 3x income rule, honestly

It is the standard and it is imperfect. In high-cost markets it excludes a large share of otherwise reliable tenants, and it takes no account of debt, household size or job stability.

Alternatives worth considering: rent-to-income of 35–40% instead of 33%, or an income floor plus a debt-to-income test. What matters is that whatever you choose is written and applied uniformly. Applying 3x to some applicants and 2.5x to others is the exact inconsistency that creates liability.

Process rules that matter as much as the criteria

First qualified applicant, not best applicant. Process applications in the order received and accept the first that meets the published standards. "Best" invites subjective comparison, which is where bias enters — including bias you do not know you have.

Same questions, same order, every time. Keep a script for showings and calls. Never ask about children, national origin, religion, disability, or whether someone is married.

Document every decline with the reason from your criteria. "Credit score 580, below published 620 minimum" is defensible. "Not a good fit" is not.

Provide adverse action notices. If you decline based on a consumer report, the FCRA requires notice naming the reporting agency and informing the applicant of their right to a free copy and to dispute.

Keep applications for the period your jurisdiction requires — commonly two to seven years for fair housing purposes.

What actually predicts a good tenant

In rough order of predictive value: verified rental history contacted directly, payment history, income stability rather than income level, and time at current job. Credit score matters but is the weakest of these, and is heavily influenced by medical debt that says nothing about whether someone pays rent.

The single highest-value step is calling the previous landlord rather than the current one. A current landlord wanting rid of a problem tenant has an incentive to give a glowing reference; a previous one does not.

Conclusion

Write the criteria, publish them with the listing, and apply them without exception. The consistency is what protects you legally, and it happens to be better screening too — most bad tenancies trace back to an exception someone made because an applicant seemed nice.

This is general information rather than legal advice, and screening law varies substantially by state and city. Have a local attorney review your criteria before you use them.