Legit landlord or identity thief?

January 15, 2009 8:33 AM

What personal info does my future landlord need from me to make sure I'm legit? How do I make sure he's legit?

This is my first time renting an apartment. Before I sign the lease, the landlord wants (among other info) my social security number and a copy of my driver's license. He says he wants these to run my credit history and do a background check on me. Because my parents will be cosigners on the lease, he wants the same information from them.

Is this reasonable? Or am I just setting myself up for identity theft?

Furthermore, how should I go about checking him out? Is getting his background check and credit history a good idea?

Background:
The landlord lives in NY and the apartment is in CT. I have not yet met him in person, but we've talked over the phone. I've seen the apartment and met with the current residents, who say the landlord is great. I've done some preliminary web searches to check up on him, and he's almost certainly who he says he is.

posted by Asymptote to Law & Government (8 answers total)

Best answer: Yes, this seems perfectly reasonable. They want to make sure you're not likely to stop paying rent and you're not going to do anything shady/illegal or cause massive amounts of damage to the place.

If you have bad or limited credit history, they may also ask for proof of income, such as a recent pay stub.
posted by backseatpilot at 8:42 AM on January 15, 2009

This is entirely routine for renting an apartment in New York. I doubt you can actually sign a lease without giving over that information, to be honest. Running background checks on potential landlords, however, is not expected. You really don't have any reason to do this. Give him your info and don't worry about it.
posted by valkyryn at 8:42 AM on January 15, 2009

Best answer: Seems like a pretty standard request to me. I've lived in places that required more, and I've lived in places that require less. Totally depends on the landlord, location, and more.

How long have the previous tenants been in the apartment? Take that into consideration when determining whether or not they have any incentive in telling you the landlord is "great" when he may not be. For instance, if they're subletting the apartment (leaving before their lease is up) that could be a bad sign (but not necessarilly).

I've never heard of a tenant doing a credit check on a landlord.
posted by nitsuj at 8:45 AM on January 15, 2009

Response by poster:

Running background checks on potential landlords, however, is not expected. You really don't have any reason to do this.

Not even to make sure he's not, say, at risk for foreclosure?
posted by Asymptote at 8:47 AM on January 15, 2009

Best answer: Landlords, especially in New York, generally aren't at any significant foreclosure risk, at least not more than usual. Sure, landlords get in trouble like everyone else does, but the wave of foreclosures you're hearing about in the news is largely affecting owners of single-family dwellings, i.e. condos and detached housing. The vast majority of property in New York City 1) is multi-family, and 2) doesn't change hands very frequently, and is thus relatively unlikely to be affected by the current credit crisis, which typically hits people who purchased single-family properties in the last decade or so. Even if a rental property was purchased recently, I haven't heard about rent prices falling in New York, so landlords can probably still charge what they were before the crisis, so their revenue stream should be reasonably intact.

I say again, you don't have any real reason to run a background check on a potential landlord. I've never heard of anyone doing such a thing.
posted by valkyryn at 8:54 AM on January 15, 2009

A credit report is standard. Background check is a little less so, but I've had landlords do this. I've also had them charge me for the credit report. It's annoying, but landlords get horror story tenants often enough. If you have it on good authority that the landlord is great, I'd chalk it up to good caution, not skeevy digging.

(My last landlord also wanted to know the make/model/license plate of my car. For catch-as-catch can non-permit parking in South Philly, this is beyond irrelevant to a landlord.)
posted by desuetude at 9:23 AM on January 15, 2009

Best answer: If the other tenants like him and say he's great, that should hold a lot of weight in your decision. They don't really have a reason to lie, and they know him better (right now) than you do.

Overall, though, I think the best thing you can do is familiarise yourself with all the landlord/tenant laws in your state/city. That way, if you do have a problem, you know your rights and options. Also, you might want to study up on state/federal laws (probably fairly new ones) concerning tenant rights in the event of landlord foreclosure. I agree with other posters that this is really unlikely to happen, but it's good to be informed.
posted by catwoman429 at 9:32 AM on January 15, 2009

Best answer: Furthermore, how should I go about checking him out? Is getting his background check and credit history a good idea?


I have never heard of anyone checking their landlord out in this way. It's not even really possible if your deal is being handled by a management agency. As for collecting info on you, perfectly normal.

Not even to make sure he's not, say, at risk for foreclosure?

He can have perfectly fabulous credit history and still be foreclosed on if for some reason he can't make mortgage payments.
posted by oneirodynia at 10:30 AM on January 15, 2009