How Prior Criminal Drug History Can Affect the Landlord
Knowledge of prior criminal charges is a critical factor to consider when you are evaluating new rental applicants. Studies show that those with drug convictions are far more likely to reoffend than those with any other type of conviction. Leasing to a person with a criminal record relating to drug usage or distribution can lead to damages on your property as well as a bad reputation on your dwelling. You could be faced with spending much more than a simple $18 to decontaminate a dwelling where certain drugs have been manufactured or used.
While we all know that a person can turn over a new leaf and decide to stay on the straight and narrow, the fact is that most people convicted of drug crimes are convicted more than once. This means that someone who already has a drug-related conviction is more likely to reoffend these charges than someone with a petty theft crime charge. These crimes can also lead to other crimes, such as violence and theft. If you do not run a background check and unknowingly lease your property to a convicted felon, you could be setting yourself up to lose a substantial amount of money. If the tenant is arrested on future charges, you may find yourself losing out on rent while the tenant is serving time behind bars for future charges.
If others living in the apartment complex or neighborhood are aware of potential drug exchanges occurring, they certainly have every right to notify the police. You could be held liable for not running a background check if the community has restrictions on who can live there according to their previous criminal records. Even if this is not the case, if your rental unit receives a bad reputation, you may find it hard to find good tenants in the future.
One of the biggest issues with leasing to a convicted felon with drug-related charges is the money you will put into the unit to prepare it for the next tenant. Not only will you have to deal with the normal wear and tear that renting provides, such as painting and changing the locks, but you will also have to decontaminate the entire house or apartment. Anyone visiting the property could be exposed to harmful chemicals, leading to more costs for you. Proper decontamination procedures after a house or apartment has been exposed to meth can cost in the upwards of $10,000.
Avoid troubles from the beginning by simply using a tenant screening service to scan the financial and criminal backgrounds of all applicants. In fact, AccuRental Just get the applicants name and email address, and AccuRental will do the rest.
About: AccuRental provides $18 tenant screening services, free rental applications, and free lease agreements. Use AccuRental as your one-stop-shop landlord resource!
Comments(0)