Tenant Screening Red Flags
16:03 · 2026-10-09
The most expensive mistake a landlord can make is often the tenant, not a repair. Brian Mullins walks through how we screen applicants after thousands of applications: income, rental history, credit and background checks, the five red flags that tell you something's off, and the fair housing rules every owner has to follow.
A note on the fair housing section: the video names five protected classes. Federal law protects seven: race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, and disability. Oklahoma law adds age and verifiable source of income, and Oklahoma City and Norman add more. Assistance animals, including emotional support animals for people with disabilities, are handled as reasonable accommodations, not as pets. Our tenant screening guide has the full list.
In this video
- 0:00 Coming up
- 0:22 Intro
- 1:24 1. Income
- 2:52 2. Rental history
- 4:46 3. Credit & background check
- 6:27 Red flag #1: The numbers don't add up
- 7:30 Red flag #2: The landlord is a friend
- 8:57 Red flag #3: Missing information
- 9:27 Red flag #4: Too pushy
- 9:59 Red flag #5: Overly nice
- 10:32 Fair housing
- 12:21 Assistance animals
- 13:56 Adverse action letter
- 14:47 Not legal advice
- 15:06 Recap
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