Should our association approve or disapprove tenants?
I was recently asked by a board member if I thought her association should be allowed to approve or disapprove tenants on the basis of criminal checks.
Most condominium documents do not allow the association to approve or disapprove tenants, and for good reason; the association would present itself with two problems if it allowed or disallowed residents: 1) By disapproving a tenant, the association could very well subject themselves to suits alleging discrimination under the Fair Housing Act, 2) Criminal background checks do not catch all persons with criminal tendencies; therefore, by approving a tenant a situation could be present where the board approves a tenant who turns out to be a serial rapist or cat burglar, and who reeks havoc in the community following board approval of his residency. In short, I recommend to our community association clients that the associations not get involved in approving or disapproving tenants even if they have that authority in their documents.