Renter screening

What's allowed

• A rental property owner may ask for monthly income that is at least three times the monthly rent.
• If the applicant proves that they made less and still paid rent on time, the owner must make an exception.

What's not allowed

A rental property owner is not allowed to consider:

• Short rental history
• Evictions over three years old
• Evictions that were dismissed or that the applicant won
• Settlements over one year old

What's allowed

• A rental property owner can look only at parts of an applicant’s credit report to see if they can afford to pay the rent.

What's not allowed

An owner is not allowed to consider:

• Short credit history
• Credit score

What's allowed

A rental property owner may:

• Reject an applicant based on drug offenses in the Federal Controlled Substances Act
  See Section 102 of the Federal Controlled Substances Act
• Deny an application if an offense bars the applicant from federally assisted housing

What's not allowed

An owner is not allowed to consider:

• An arrest that did not end in conviction
• Misdemeanors older than three years
• Felonies older than seven years
• Convictions over ten years old for these felonies:
  • First-degree assault
  • First-degree criminal sexual conduct
  • First-degree arson
  • First-degree aggravated robbery
  • First-degree murder
  • Second-degree murder
  • Third-degree murder
  • First-degree manslaughter
  • Kidnapping
• Convictions for:
  • A crime that is no longer illegal in Minnesota
  • A crime that was removed from the applicant's record
  • Something that happened while in the juvenile justice system