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Residential Property Management Lexington SC | Avoiding Discrimination

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The Fair Housing Act is federal legislation that makes it illegal for most housing providers to discriminate against a tenant based on race, disability, familiar status, national origin, color, religion, and sex. Residential property management Lexington SC investors work with are trained and certified in Federal Fair Housing regulations, but it is easy for people to slip up and discriminate against someone in a passive way and without even realizing. 

Our property managers have some recommendations you can follow to ensure you are always in compliance with the Federal Fair Housing Act. 

  1. Be Consistent- The rules need to apply to everyone equally with no exceptions being made. If leasing agents working for a residential property management Lexington SC company are supposed to ask for a photo ID when showing a home to prospects, the leasing agent or property manager needs to ensure the practice is consistent. Same scenario applies to applicants that might not qualify for the home but offer to pay the full lease up front. If you allow one tenant to do this, you must allow all applicants the ability to do this. 
  2. Fulfill Maintenance Requests First Come First Served- When it comes to maintenance, the crew might want to resolve smaller problems or quick to fix issues first; however, it is important that, unless there is a maintenance emergency, that all requests are addressed in the order they are received. Following this rule will ensure that your maintenance staff is not accused of discrimination. 
  3. Practice Giving Tours and Processing Applications- If there are multiple people working in the leasing or property management office, try to spend time practicing having conversations with coworkers and roleplaying. When having a conversation with potential tenants, it can be easy to slip up and give out information that you are not allowed to, or accidentally discriminate against someone. Practicing your approach to showing homes and answering questions can save residential property management Lexington SC companies a fair housing violation lawsuit. 

Partnering with residential property management Lexington SC companies to take care of your investment properties is always a fantastic way to make sure you are not violating the law. When you are on the hunt for the perfect partnership, make sure to ask if all the leasing agents at each company are certified in Federal Fair Housing laws. 

If you are looking for property management in Lexington SC, call Scott Properties at 843-779-6527.