CIC, the nation’s leading provider of resident and employment screening solutions, is pleased to announce participation at this year’s National Apartment Association (NAA) Education Conference & Exposition, which will be held at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Convention Center in Las Vegas, June 24-27. CIC empowers organizations to hire and lease with confidence.
Goals require a plan of action. Sometimes the thing (goal) right in front of us takes the cake. I mean, whatever the goal is, that’s the one thing that makes the earth move. There will always be tasks list, objectives, strategy and tactics. At the end of the day you must be able to measure accomplishments, measure progress towards an established goal.
In the spirit of getting that one thing accomplished here are some proven applications (apps) that set in motion a method for accomplishing the goal at hand. The links below will take you to the website for the app.
Recently, The California State Legislature introduced a new bill which sought to amend §12955 of the Government Code, to include a criminal record as a basis upon which housing discrimination is prohibited. In what should be viewed as a big win for the rental industry the bill AB396, which sought to add restrictions to the use of criminal records in the rental decision, has been officially shelved for the remainder of the year.
UPDATE: The author, Mr. Jones-Sawyer, decided to shelve the measure this year and make it a “two-year bill.” CIC opposed AB396. For now, the bill will not see further legislative action until next year.
On Wednesday, May 27th the Appropriations Committee was scheduled to hear AB396 that would completely change the way criminal records are accessed and used during the rental screening process. The hearing was cancelled by the author for unknown reasons; however this doesn’t mean it is over and the rental housing industry must remain on its toes.
Despite several attempts from Assemblymember Jones-Sawyer to amend the flawed AB396, there are still numerous issues which landlords, property management companies, apartment associations and politicians should be aware.
The tenant screening process is your first and most important line of defense against the consequences of moving in the wrong tenants. With the uptick in eviction activity, proper screening can save you a significant amount of time and money down the road.
In addition to the increase in the number of evictions, more and more of those evictions are going to trial. Stephen Duringer, Esq., founder of the Duringer Law Group, one of the largest landlord tenant firms in California, specializing in tenant eviction advises his clients to screen prospective residents thoroughly, it is more important now than ever. His firm handles hundreds of evictions each month, including dozens of jury trials weekly, a marked increase over past years.
CIC, the nation’s most trusted supplier of information solutions for the multifamily housing industry, provides Experian RentBureau® data at no additional cost to clients receiving Experian® credit reports. Providing property managers with the most comprehensive reports, CIC helps mitigate undesirable rental risks.
Today, we live in the fast-paced world of changing technology. For most renters, the only check they write each month is to pay their rent. Property managers can entice renters to their properties by leveraging cutting-edge technology to automate the payment process for renters each month, while at the same time simplifying daily office operations. It’s a mutual win-win.
Forgetting to make a payment or mail a check becomes a thing of the past and renters do not always need access to a computer to utilize these types of services. With built-in convenience functions, accepting payments online can allow property managers to know if a payment was made or not. In the event that a payment was not made, an electronic notification can be sent to the renters and they can make alternative arrangements to pay.
In today’s competitive rental market, property managers always need to be one step ahead of the competition. Processes must become increasingly efficient, heightened risks must be addressed and reduced. The right online application solution is a great way to achieve both results – affordably.
Prohibits Rental Owners from running criminal checks in the initial screening and forces those that find a criminal record to hold the unit vacant for a minimum of 14 days.
On April 30, 2015, California State Assembly amended AB 396 (authored by Assembly Member Jones-Sawyer); Rental housing discrimination: applications: criminal records. While the new language technically ‘allows for’ the reporting and use of criminal records in the resident screening and selection process, it creates a situation wherein landlords and property managers who do so will face a number of additional steps, including the creation of a two-step screening process and the setting aside of their rental unit for 14 days or longer for a denied application based on criminal records.
Right now the Texas legislature is proposing to pass several bills that could be troublesome in the proper screening of applicants for rental housing. The pending deadline for these bills of May 11th means that opponents are pushing heavily to get them reported out of Committee as soon as possible. We encourage you to read each of the proposed bills below, and make your voice heard.
