Don't tell the landlord about your punk band

May 12, 2017 9:28 AM

My apartment building is interviewing potential new tenants for a 1br vacancy. I'm on the interview committee. What good questions should we ask?

It's a fairly small complex, the walls are thin, and folks tend to stay here forever and ever--which means we all kind of know each other, and have longstanding friendships and twenty-year-old arguments. What are some good questions we can ask interviewees to get a better idea of what kind of tenant they'll be? For the most part we've honed the pile of applications down to folks we actively liked/got a good feeling from, so we're not weeding the wheat from the chaff so much as getting a better sense of what the really good-seeming ones will actually be like as neighbors, how they deal with (or make) noise or conflict, how they'll use public space, etc.. Since no one's going to say they like to party all night, or are planning to start a punk band as soon as they move in, I'm looking for questions that ask around issues that people will be savvy enough to answer "correctly" otherwise. Presumably some of those will be "tell us about a time when..." questions, but in general, I'd love any suggestions at all.

If it makes a difference, this is in California and many of the applicants have Section 8 or other housing assistance (and so have added trouble finding housing). Some of the committee members are partial toward helping out single moms, others see a shorter-term tenant who has plans to move on soon as a boon, while others see someone unobtrusive who'll be here forever as an ideal tenant. There's no one right answer to any of this, except perhaps in retrospect. Help?

(Also: tenant involvement in the selection process is part of our governance system as a building; assume everything is on the up and up, and also that we know what types of things landlords are legally prohibited from asking, etc.)

posted by anonymous to Human Relations (8 answers total)

also that we know what types of things landlords are legally prohibited from asking

IANYL, but I'd pretty much recommend that you not advertise, as you've just done here, that your committee has members who want to discriminate on the basis of sex and/or familial status.
posted by praemunire at 9:34 AM on May 12, 2017 [9 favorites]

I've always liked asking my potential tenants what kinds of complaints they've had as tenants, both towards landlord and towards other tenants. It gives me an idea of whether their complaints are compatible with mine. "What are some of your pet peeves with neighbors?" If they say, "I had neighbors once who were super rowdy late at night and kept me awake, and the landlord never did anything about it," well, those are my kinds of people. If they say, "The landlord was always on my ass about leaving toys out in the common areas, but I have kids, he should have known that there were going to be toys left out when he rented to me," well, that's a problem.
posted by juniperesque at 9:36 AM on May 12, 2017 [6 favorites]

Perhaps ask how they feel about others in the building using public space, having parties, stopping by to visit, receiving others' packages, making noise, and other wanted/unwanted behavior? There may not be a "right" or "wrong" answer but it'll give you a sense of what their personal norms as a neighbor are.
posted by R a c h e l at 9:41 AM on May 12, 2017

My coop board is super relaxed, but we did refuse a subletter who was planning to give music lessons, and it was just kind of random that someone thought to ask. Generally, 'are you going to be doing income producing work in the apartment' is good to know -- lots of stuff is unobjectionable, but you want to know if someone's setting up a machine shop.
posted by LizardBreath at 9:50 AM on May 12, 2017 [1 favorite]

Definitely ask what has caused them to move from previous residences - and questions like, "what was the word landlord you had like, and what was the best landlord you ever had like?"
posted by Sara_NOT_Sarah at 9:55 AM on May 12, 2017 [2 favorites]

The first question I would be asking are not to the applicants, they would all be to the landlord and the governance of the building.

You have disclosed to us here that there are members of the committee that are interested in discriminating against candidates on the basis of sex and family status, which violates the Fair Housing Act.

I think you should be asking how those members can be removed, you should be asking what kind of protections the committee has if and when you are sued for violating the Fair Housing Act, you should ask for an attorney or other licensed housing professional to guide the process, but ultimately, if it were me, I would be asking to dissolve this committee and put this process and its risks back on the landlord, a licensed housing professional that is knowledgeable and insured, or an attorney.
Alternately, you could require the committee members become licensed rental agents.

If you committee does not do that, I sincerely think there are just three questions you can ask any applicant:

1. Do you want the apartment?
2. Can you afford the apartment and prove it?
3. Did you pass the criminal background check?

Beyond this, and you are playing with fire as far as violating the Fair Housing Act. Some municipalities further protect other groups (such as sexual orientation) that is not protected by the Federal law, so make sure you know your local housing laws on top of this. In some areas, those with Section 8 vouchers are also a protected class and it is possible you need to be very cautious about their applications.

Personally, I think it's really awful that all of the risk of violating the Fair Housing Act has been pushed off on this committee and the landlord isn't doing the difficult and risky work of screening and selecting tenants. Has this landlord been sued for Fair Housing violations in the past? Is that why the risk is passed on to the tenants and not held by the landlord? Is the landlord trying to save money by not hiring a housing professional do to this work and doesn't understand the risks? If I were you, I would get off this committee as fast as possible and work to dissolve it and put the screening in the hands of professionals.

Here is a very basic overview of the Fair Housing Act.
posted by littlewater at 11:11 AM on May 12, 2017 [3 favorites]

I'd ask "what do you think ideal quiet hour rules should be" and "how do you prefer to see them (quiet hour rules) enforced"; that should give you an idea of how they are about noise. And "what do you think the role of a landlord / HOA (or whatever your governing body is) ought to be" should be illuminating.

And the excellent suggestion above about asking re pet peeves re neighbors and landlords.
posted by fingersandtoes at 11:24 AM on May 12, 2017

Here is a very basic overview of the Fair Housing Act.

I'd also check section 4-8 and 4-9 of HUD's Section 8 Tenant Selection and Rejection requirements.
posted by Room 641-A at 11:55 AM on May 12, 2017 [1 favorite]