It’s my property. I saved hard for it. I want it to be kept in as good a condition as possible. It’s only fair that I can choose who that is, right?
Well, yes and no.
Let’s deal with the no first. In South Australia, we have comprehensive equal opportunity legislation that applies to all tenancies.
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Prospective and current tenants must be treated equally and must not be discriminated against on the grounds of age, association with a child, caring responsibilities, chosen gender, disability, domestic abuse, intersex status, marital or domestic partnership status, pregnancy, race, sex, sexual orientation or identity of a spouse or partner.
In addition you cannot discriminate against a tenant who has an assistance or therapeutic animal.
The list is long but as a landlord, you cannot have selection criteria that include any of these grounds.
Column author Paul Edwards of the Real Estate Institute of South Australia. Supplied.
You can’t reject an application on the grounds of sexuality. Pic: iStock.
Your selection criteria for picking a tenant must be transparent and applied equally to all the applicants for your property.
For example, one of your selection criteria cannot be that you will only rent out to persons who are Australian citizens.
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Try and not to automatically stereotype tenants as well. For example, it is understandable that you may not want to have a tenant with children.
You immediately think of damage and noise complaints. However, think of the flip side. These tenants are also likely to have strong community ties and be great long term tenants.
Likewise, you can’t reject a family because you think they’ll be noisy and damage the place. Pic: iStock
Now for the yes – so what can you take into account in assessing a tenant for suitability?
All the usual matters such as previous rental history, financial capacity to pay the rent, care of the property, desired length of lease and so on.
These are details that can be gained from the tenant’s previous landlord or property manager or directly from the tenant themselves.
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These are all matters that are fundamental in assessing a tenant’s ability to be responsible and look after your property as their own.
I quite often hear from landlords – well I can just hide behind one of these lawful requirements to discriminate against them in any event – after all, I don’t have to give the tenant any reason for rejecting their application.
When considering an application, first and foremost you should consider their ability to pay the rent and look after it. Pic: iStock.
All I can say to this is that you better be able to justify your rejection of an application based on a valid reason and your selection criteria.
Don’t make up a reason to hide the real reason.
Everyone has the right to apply for a property and to be treated equally and fairly. Applicants can only be rejected if you genuinely believe they are unable to meet the responsibilities of their lease.
– Written by Paul Edwards, REISA legislation and compliance adviser
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