Rental Advertising
With knowledge of an up-coming vacancy, a landlord can begin preparations to fill that vacancy. Before placing rental advertising, it is a good practice to review local market data trends, supply and demand, demographics, market rents, competition, and other conditions that affect local area renters’ consideration and choice for unit selection. A landlord should develop an effective advertising strategy to identify and attract potential renters willing to quickly move forward to application, selection, and tenancy.
The advertising process must be compliant with Fair Housing Act requirements for advertising rental property. There may be other requirements under state and local fair housing laws that will need to be included within the process.
Housing discrimination occurs when a landlord places an advertisement regarding the rental of any housing accommodation that indicates any preference or limitation based upon protected classes or characteristics.
Section 804(c) of the Fair Housing Act specifically makes it unlawful to make, print, or publish, (or cause to be made, printed, or published), any notice, statement, or advertisement, with respect to the sale or rental of a dwelling, that indicates any preference, limitation, or discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, or handicap. This prohibition against discriminatory advertising applies to single-family and owner-occupied housing that is otherwise exempt from the Fair Housing Act.
Landlords must be attentive to how all forms of advertising, written and oral, are created and delivered to the rental market audience. Discriminatory advertising laws apply to the landlord’s use of brochures, flyers, leaflets, signs, posters, banners, TV and radio commercials, billboards, Internet-based advertising, or other conventional print ads in newspapers or magazines. What might be overlooked by a landlord in assessing his operations for potential fair housing violations are various other forms of advertising that make or print notices, statements, or advertisements used for communications by email or text, printed application forms and other rental documents, photographs of the property with tenants or potential tenants in the photos, illustrations in marketing materials or even signage and pictures in the rental office that could be construed as discriminatory against a protected class or characteristic.
Non-discriminatory advertising should advertise in an inclusive way that will attract the broadest possible audience, and avoid expressing any preference for or limitation against certain classes or characteristics.
In determining whether advertising constitutes a discriminatory housing practice, a “reasonable person” standard is applied by the courts. This standard means that liability is incurred by a person or entity if they make an advertisement that indicates a preference and that preference is readily apparent to an ordinary reader.
There are many different approaches to advertising rental properties. Many landlords have found through experience that there can be multiple advertising tactics that help to fill a vacancy. What works is usually conditioned upon a number of factors, i.e. local market, the landlord’s business model, and past history of advertising and marketing practices.
For some local markets a more defined advertising approach may be appropriate for the property and rental area. Word of mouth advertising and placing “For Rent” signs on the property are examples of a narrow, defined approach to advertising. It may take longer to fill a vacancy when using narrowly defined advertising methods. However, studies have shown that word of mouth advertising from existing tenants can be quite effective particularly in small regional markets. Word-of-mouth advertising can also come from referrals from family, co-workers, and friends in their communications with others in person or through social media.
While most advertising will eventually attract attention from potential renters, effective use of advertising can reduce vacancy down time and associated costs. Technology enables more efficient use of resources and provides an effective means to reach a larger and diverse market area.
Since many renters shop rental housing listings using mobile apps, rental listings that showcase property features and amenities with quality photographs of the property interior, exterior, and communal spaces generate more interest by viewers to visit the property either by virtual tour or physical showing.
The image quality of the photos, the number of photos, and the care taken to showcase relevant feature, amenities and floor plans, with detailed, accurate descriptions of the rental unit and the community are important factors in making the important first impression. First impression is a powerful decisioning factor for many prospective renters in the choice of a new home. A rental listing that provides the rental basics of the rental rate, relevant lease terms, tenant-friendly policies such as pet-friendly housing, parking/garage availability, and options such as “we offer virtual showings” allows the viewer to pre-screen his interest in the unit, his ability to qualify to minimum standards, and accordingly, make the call to learn more. Landlords that provide multiple channels of communication, such as options for phone, email, text messaging, and social media, make it easier for an interested prospective renter to ask questions or request a showing. It is important that the landlord be available to respond to inquiries in a timely manner. Prospective renters having begun a search for housing are more likely to consider renting from a landlord who tends to business and does not delay his response to inquiries.
Just as location, location, location of the rental property is a primary consideration for business viability, so is the placement of online rental listings on specific sites and apps. The “location” of the listing is important to be able to reach the largest possible market for the type, size, condition, and characteristics of the rental property. Most prospective renters use third-party listing apps or sites to search for available housing. Online rental listings can be posted to sites/apps such as Zillow, Trulia, Craigslist, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, or other third-party rental property services.
Posting a virtual tour of the rental unit, or offering an open house tour using one-time access to view the unit can be effective means to show available units while being compliant with local and state regulations for health and safety reasons during social distancing and lockdown situations. A virtual showing using Face Time or Zoom for interested prospects can further qualify prospects into becoming applicants. The virtual forum offers opportunity for both landlord and prospect to ask/answer questions about the unit, rental terms, or the next step toward application and screening.
Whatever listing process is chosen to market the vacancy, a landlord should disclose in his listing, website, or in communication with a prospective renter the landlord’s rental process of filling vacancies, what screenings are required, lease terms and conditions, and other relevant information regarding fees, deposits, etc.
Although advertising violations can be found in some common rental practices, it should not be difficult to create a responsible ad that complies with fair housing laws if a landlord keeps these key points in mind:
- advertising should describe the property features and amenities, not characteristics of the ideal tenant;
- advertising should not express a preference for one personal characteristic over another;
- advertising should not exclude persons in protected classes; and
- advertising must be truthful in describing rental availability, rent, amenities, and features of a housing unit.
All advertising copy and information regarding responses should be kept for the period of time that complies with applicable document retention policies regarding the subject matter. By documenting the advertising process a landlord can determine what advertising method(s) may be most effective for his property under various market conditions. Additionally, documentation can help provide a defense against claims of discriminatory advertising policies.