How do I Find Homes for People Who Have Been Evicted?

How do I Find Homes for People Who Have Been Evicted?
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Evictions are a red flag to landlords and property managers. If you are trying to help an evicted tenant find new housing, both of you will have to deal with significant challenges. Finding understanding landlords, helping a potential tenant come up with a high security deposit or finding a co-signer are all strategies for helping an evicted tenant find new housing.

Seek out understanding landlords. Many landlords run background and credit checks on prospective tenants and may automatically reject an applicant because of an eviction. However, small-time landlords with only one or two properties may not bother with tenant screening, so looking for "owner-occupied" buildings can be a good strategy.

Ask the evicted tenant if he minds sharing space with another person or subletting a home. Some landlords do not perform background checks on roommates or subletters.

Prepare the applicant for landlord negotiation. Some landlords may risk taking on a tenant with an eviction if the tenant can pre-pay some rent, pay a large security deposit or find a co-signer.

Tips

  • Advise the renter to be up-front about the eviction. It is better that the landlord know about the eviction prior to running a tenant screening report than getting a surprise afterward.

    If the renter was evicted due to extenuating circumstances, such as fleeing a domestic violence situation, she may be able to have her eviction expunged from public records. She should contact the court where the eviction was ordered to find out if this is possible.

Warnings

  • Many landlords charge an application fee that covers the cost of a tenant background check. Prior to paying this fee, the applicant should find out if the landlord will automatically reject the application due to an eviction.