When you apply to rent a place, property managers or landlords can use certain information to decide if they think you would be a good tenant. However, laws like the federal Fair Housing Act and the Minnesota Human Rights Act mean they cannot discriminate against you when you apply for or live in their housing.

These are things a property manager or landlord is allowed to look at:

• Your credit history
• Your income (money you get from benefits, work, or other sources)
• Your public criminal record
• A tenant screening report that shows your past rentals

A landlord cannot ask you about your disability or your medical condition. Also, some places in Minnesota and some types of housing that get certain types of funding have very specific guidelines on what is allowed during tenant selection.

If your application is denied, ask them to tell you why in writing. This lets you know what your barriers are. It may also help you request a reasonable accommodation for the tenant selection criteria if you have a disability or appeal their decision by using a form or writing a letter. It also gives you information to help you solve the problem for future housing applications.

Asking for a Reasonable Accommodation for Your Application

If you have a disability that makes it difficult for you to complete your housing application, you can ask for a reasonable accommodation. For example, if you are blind and there is a paper form you must fill out, you can ask for the form to be given in a format you can use.

You can also ask for a reasonable accommodation related to the “tenant selection criteria.” This means asking them to take your disability into account when they look at your application.

Here are some examples of reasonable accommodation requests to change the tenant selection criteria:

• If you had an eviction because you had an untreated mental health disorder, but now you are getting treatment, you can ask them not to consider your eviction.
• If you were drinking and were convicted of a crime, but have since successfully completed a substance abuse program, you can ask to have them not look at your criminal record while you were actively using substances.
• If you have no rental history because you’ve always lived in group homes due to your disability, you can ask to have them not hold your lack of a rental history against you.
• If the landlord thinks your income isn’t high enough to pay for rent because you have a fixed income from Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits, you can ask them to take into account that you have reliable income and also get benefits that help cover your other expenses (like medical care and help with food).

You can use the HB101 Vault’s Reasonable Accommodation Letter activity to help you write a letter asking for a reasonable accommodation.