Protect your rental property and improve your chances of finding a high-quality tenant by using social media as a screening tool. As a landlord, it's essential to know who your tenants are before signing a lease agreement and entrusting the partial care of your property to them. To that end, savvy investors prioritize credit checks and rental verification to learn more about their applicants. However, some landlords are taking it a step further by checking potential renters' digital footprint through what they post online. But is it ethical? Is it effective? Here are all the top benefits and ethical considerations of screening tenants through social media:
Benefits of Social Media in Tenant Screening
Verification of Information
Double-check potential renters’ information by taking a look through their social profiles. For example, it's not uncommon for prospective tenants to lie about their jobs or income to make their applications seem more appealing. That's why standard screening checks are essential to ensure you don't sign a lease with a tenant who can't make their rent. For instance, a renter could be between jobs while claiming to be an employee of their previous organization. A quick search on LinkedIn could reveal when their employment actually ended and that they're currently job hunting. Aside from verifying their employment, social media can also help you discover information the tenants didn't disclose, like extra pets, smoking habits, or a criminal background.
Risk Mitigation
Protect your investment through due diligence. With high-quality renters, you're more likely to receive your rental payments on time and encounter fewer instances of tenant damage. On the other hand, tenants with a previous history of evictions, disputes with their former landlords, and poor credit scores could make your job more difficult. Additionally, these issues could also eat into your net profits through frequent repairs, legal fees, or rental arrears. Using social media as a tenant screening tool can help you steer clear of troublesome renters, reducing your risk and protecting your rental property.
Behavioral Insights
Find out if a prospective tenant's behavior and habits are compatible with your expectations by looking through less formal social sites. While Facebook and LinkedIn can help you verify where potential renters claim to live or work, informal platforms like X and Instagram are more likely to reveal red flags that could threaten your property's well-being.
While social media may portray a certain lifestyle of a tenant, it’s important to remember that it is not the full picture. This is why Bay Property Management Group Philadelphia suggests creating a fair list of standard screening criteria and qualifications for tenant applicants to avoid any potential discrimination.
Ethical Considerations in Checking Social Media
Fair Housing Laws
Stay out of legal trouble by adhering to fair housing laws during your investigation. Whether you're running a credit check or scrolling through their Instagram, you have to be mindful of Federal and state laws that protect tenants from discrimination based on facts like disability, religion, or race. It might not be immediately apparent when a tenant is part of a protected class under the Fair Housing Act, but looking through their socials could tell you a lot more about them. As a result, you have to consciously prevent such information from influencing your decision-making and landing you in a discrimination suit.
Combined with Traditional Screening
Traditional screening methods create a more holistic picture of your tenants’ suitability. It is a vital process to do tenant verification to avoid problems during the lease term, and you can't rely solely on social media. After all, not everyone is active on social media, and not everyone tells the truth, so you risk coming up short on valuable information if you're too dependent on it. TikTok reels and Instagram stories can also be deceiving, so it's best to go with a thorough background check. You should use social media as a supplement to traditional screening methods like credit checks, rental history, references, and income verification.
Setting Uniform Tenant Screening Criteria
Keep things fair by creating a set of criteria for your evaluation. Establishing rules for your standard and social media screening process can make it easier to vet each applicant. This gives each tenant an equal chance at housing. In other words, you can't look through Applicant A's LinkedIn and Facebook and only check Applicant B's Twitter page. Depending on the person, these sites can provide vastly different details, giving one tenant an edge over the other. It would be best to choose what platforms you're most comfortable with and apply it to all prospective tenants.
Conclusion
Give yourself peace of mind when selecting a tenant for your rental by tracking what your prospective applicants post online. The renter you choose will inevitably affect your bottom line, so it's essential to safeguard your investment by verifying whatever they tell you. Social media can be a great tool to help confirm your tenants' information and spot potential red flags. It can also give you valuable insight into a renter's behavior, reducing the risk of choosing a tenant that is incompatible with your property's well-being.
Still, social media does not take the place of or carry the same weight as traditional screening methods. Also, it is critical for landlords to follow fair housing laws and create uniform criteria for all applicants to steer clear of discrimination claims. Of course, you can always lean on the expertise of a professional property management company to help you through the tenant selection process with ease.
