Is it legal for a property manager to make a possible tenant wait to submit their application?
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Is it legal for a property manager to make a possible tenant wait to submit their application?
A friend of ours knew we were actively looking for a better place to live because we are expecting our first child in the next 2 months. He directed us
to his brother who had just hired a real estate agent to find a tenant. We
contacted the owner directly before it had even been listed online, and he let
his property manager know that we wanted the unit. We called the agent the next morning, leaving a message. He finally called back at the end of the day,
saying someone would call to schedule a showing. A day passed without any
activity. Called again the next day, leaving a message that we were the ones
who wanted to rent the apartment, and he called back late in the evening saying that someone would call to schedule a showing by the next morning. I asked him if there was any paperwork that he could send me so we would be in line, and he said there was no need, and that we need to just wait to schedule a showing. We received no call about scheduling one by the next afternoon, so I contacted his fill-in while he was taking the day off, and she sent me the application almost immediately. We finally received a call about a showing that evening but by then, 3 people were able to apply before us, and the manager is telling the owner that it would be illegal to select us, because he’s not allowed to discriminate based on their credit score, history or the fact that we contacted him first but were last to apply. We would have applied the night we contacted the owner, but the manager was the only one who knew where we were supposed to do that and he would not tell us, or allow the owner to take it into consideration when choosing a future tenant. We have a
lease ending next month and need to give our current landlord notice that we are moving out.
Asked on June 27, 2018 under Real Estate Law, Ohio
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
There is no inherent right to apply for a rental or have someone consider your application so long as there was no illegal discrimination going on (see below); in the absence of discrimination, the property manager could elect to not consider your application on a timely basis.
The law prevent housing discrimination due to race, color, national origin, disability, or sex. If you beleive that he held off on your application due to one of these factors, then you may have been the victim of illegal housing discrimination and should contact HUD, which investigates housing discrmination complaints.
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