What's the best way for landlords to screen tenants? Savvy landlords should ask all prospective tenants to fill out a written rental application that includes the following information: employment, income and credit history Social Security and driver's license numbers past evictions or bankruptcies, and references. Before choosing tenants, landlords should check with previous landlords and other references; verify income, employment and bank account information; and obtain a credit report. The credit report is especially important because it will indicate whether a particular person has a history of paying rent or bills late, has gone through bankruptcy, been convicted of a crime or has ever been evicted. Is it legal for a landlord to answer questions about a tenant's credit? Creditors, banks and prospective landlords may ask a landlord to provide credit or other information about a current or former tenant. A landlord who sticks to the facts that are relevant to the tenant's creditworthiness (such as whether the tenant paid rent on time) is allowed to respond to these inquiries. To be extra careful, some landlords insist that tenants sign a release giving the landlord permission to respond to such requests. How can a landlord avoid discrimination lawsuits when choosing a tenant? Fair housing laws specify clearly illegal reasons to refuse to rent to a tenant, such as rejecting an applicant because of her race, religion, ethnic background, sex, age or because she has children or a disability. Landlords are legally free to choose among prospective tenants as long as their decisions comply with these laws and are based on legitimate business criteria. For example, a landlord is entitled to reject someone with a poor credit history, insufficient income to pay the rent or past behavior -- such as damaging property -- that makes the person a bad risk. A valid occupancy policy limiting the number of people per rental unit -- one that is clearly tied to health and safety - can also be a legal basis for refusing tenants. © 2000 Nolo.com