I hope this doesn't get political...that's not my goal here. But I'm wondering if you rent to an illegal and they are "removed" from the country...

1) Would that be a major issue for you?

2) Could it happen to you or are you certain all your tenants are legally in the US?

3) What can you do to prevent from it being a problem? Require an SS#?

Any other thoughts?

1) Yes, because that likely means ICE will be damaging your property

2) Yes, it could because very few of them that have inquired are here legally

3) Don't rent to them. Otherwise ignore the problem exist.

4) As NE stated, with proper screening you won't rent to them anyway. Here where I am, if you ask them to pay application fees they look at you like you are crazy and won't do it. Most won't fill out an application anyway, and if they do it is very incomplete. Most get paid with cash and pay with cash. Most have no proof of, employment (check stubs), work for others in their social group, pay rent with cash (no proof of rent), rent from slumlords who don't screen and don't care (this is where they rent as it is the only places they can find that don't screen), don't have any credit history, want to cook with fire in your back yard, tell you that 3 will be living there but when questioned it suddenly multiplies.

It also cost lots of time dealing with them as most here do not speak English and can take hours trying to communicate.

All that said, I would love to rent to those that can speak and write in English and can be vetted with ease.

To add, it would be complicated at best to be able to communicate with them once they are in. And what about if you had to take them to court (although that would probably never happen).

I would rather keep it simple. Of course, if you didn't have to do all that screening it would be simple.

Seriously, how are you certain that you are not renting to an illegal immigrant? Any (most?) immigrants get an ITIN (as opposed to a Social Security Number) and pay taxes. It is illegal to not to pay taxes on income, whether the income is from legal sources or not (think Al Capone). From what I understand of the post Capone era, the IRS doesn't share information to other agencies regarding income reported on tax returns, but will definitely prosecute if you fail to pay taxes. So anyone can file a tax return and pay as much in taxes as they wish, but may or may not declare the source of the income, and would not violate tax laws. But most people with an ITIN and a legal job are probably also reporting their source of income, even if they are an illegal immigrant.

So, if you have an applicant from wherever who has an ITIN, what specific steps do you take to determine if they are an illegal immigrant?

And if you have someone with an accent who has a Social Security number (which implies that they are a U.S. citizen), do you require additional proof that they are a U.S. citizen?

NE and Homer indicate that they do proper screening and won't rent to criminals. But exactly what screening do they do that they are certain that they are not renting to illegals? Given that the assumptions about Social Security numbers are incorrect, what other assumptions are being made regarding employment status and being paid under the table (or not) that may be incorrect?

Many situations are highly local. I agree with 6x6 that ICE damaging your property would be a major issue. We have a large Hispanic community as well as many other nationalities, but my experience has not been the same as 6x6. We don't have a Little Mexico, so that may be the difference. He has frequently encountered some obvious signs that differ from what I have experienced in my area. Applications fees are paid by those who are actually applying. Many inquiries do not result in applications, regardless of where the person is from. Applications from immigrants are filled out, usually more completely than obvious Americans. Maybe because they did not want to waste the application fee. I have always been given proof of employment. I have had proof of rent via well known property managers in my area (not landlords or friends pretending to be landlords - this last is mostly seen with good old Americans). It is true that I have seen less credit history when I gotten to the point of verifying credit, but I am also not seeing bad credit history once I get to that point. I have only seen regular BBQ grills from any of my tenants, but only one (an American) that I had to tell to move the grill away from the house. I have had an instance of multiple people living in the home with immigrants, but in that instance I had used a PM to fill the property. I have also had other unauthorized occupant issues with native born Americans.

I don't remember anyone not submitting either a SS# or an ITIN, so I have always been able to run a credit check through the service offered on this site. But I only run a credit check if other factors seem good. We can't garnish in my state, so what is a plus factor for Ken would not make a difference for me.

I have always received a government issued id, but that may have included a passport or VISA. Some states allow people to get a driver's license with an ITIN. When I have been abroad, I have been able to rent a car and drive with a U.S. driver's license, so this factor did not jump out at me until 6x6 mentioned it. In this age of Uber and Lyft, I know a surprising number of native born Americans who don't have driver's licenses or have let them lapse, but who also don't drive. This includes rural areas without public transportation.

I used to assume the same as Homer and NE that checking a SS# or what I considered standard screening would make it obvious who was an illegal immigrant, but then I found out that my assumptions were incorrect. Immigration reform has been a topic for at least the last 40 or 50 years, and probably much longer.

Looking at the news tonight, even legal immigrants are being taken away suddenly by ICE. And federal government employees currently do not have safe employment.

But back to Hoosier's original questions, if the person has a verifiable SS#/ITIN and a verifiable job, how would you determine that they have illegal status?

"Any (most?) immigrants get an ITIN (as opposed to a Social Security Number) and pay taxes."

You guys do realize that it is almost impossible for us to determine if someone is here illegally. Yes, there are some that are easy, as 6 pointed out the newest arrivals won't have their ITIN number yet or a drivers license but within 6 months they will and then it is almost impossible. A large percentage of the illegals here were actually legally here at one point, they were given a release pending their asylum hearing. They will have a work authorization document and other things that shows they are here legally, they will have an itin number that looks just like a SSN and will pull up their credit report. The problem happens when they then don't show up for their asylum hearing as most don't, at that point they become an illegal alien, of course they can then get their lawyer to have it rescheduled so their status can change back and forth for several years.

Speaking from the trenches here. I've taught myself Spanish over the last few years because it's been very helpful for interacting with contractors and potential tenants.

Recently, a contractor that has helped me for several years got picked up by ICE. I was concerned, so I went around and asked several of my Spanish-speaking tenants if they were here legally. They trust me enough to tell me the truth. And I honestly didn't know, because I'M NOT ALLOWED TO DISCRIMINATE BASED ON NATIONALITY.

So tell me which of the following you think is here legally?

--#1, young guy, doesn't speak English, washes dishes at a restaurant, has a SS#.

--#2, guy in his 30s, married with kids, owns his own roofing and siding company, Santos Roofing LLC

--#3, married an American, two kids born in the States, divorced after 5 years, speaks butchered English

--#4, flooring installer and painter, minimal English skills, owns a car.

they are some of the best tenants. (not always) they keep a low profiles, dont ask for much, pretend to respect me, and pay me

the last type of person i would rent to, is the type that knows the system

I was very keen to hear where they arrested the head of the MS 13 gang in Dale City, Va yesterday. Went in about 3 or 4 in the a.m. At first she said apartment complex, later I heard them say townhouse.

I wondered how much damage was done? I am merely speaking from a landlord point of view. I was ok with what they were doing personally.

EVERYONE deserves a home. What does that home look like will vary depending on life's choices.

We have a fairly large population of Guatemalans in our small community. Almost everyone under 18 was born here in the USA, and therefore a citizen.

They typically rent slum properties I would be ashamed to offer, and have many more people in the house than it was designed for.

Most are hardworking and make good neighbors, some not.

California Section 8 tied to pull a fast one on me. They claimed they had a renter for one of my vacant apartments. They had already run a criminal and credit background check and the applicant passed. I would be give also from Section 8 a $500 deposit--that I could keep, it was non-refundable.

When I asked for the file containing the credit and background check, they (Section 8) refused. If I didn't rent to their candidate, I would not be give any rents from any of my other section 8 tenants.

So I asked if the applicant would like to see the apartment before signing the papers. He wanted to see it very much. I took his photo and had a friend run imaging reconiction software.

I don't rent to felons and crossing the border into the USA without proper documents is a felony.

Who rents to them? Slumlords, but they also live in extra nice expensive housing.

A lovely couple, very modern, well dressed, well qualified will apply and rent a large house, As soon as they get the lease, they fill the house with 20 or so illegals, who are each paying rent to have a bunk bed in a shared room, The couple disappears, never to be seen again and can not be served with eviction papers because no one knows where they are,

If you know you are renting to illegals you may get in trouble if it can be proven. That is why I would ask for a I-9 forms. I had to do it for all I hired at my last job. I only ran across suspected terrorists after 911. They claimed to be in Med school, the same year as all my other Med students in the same year. I passed on them after asking all my tenants if they knew him. Of the small class of Meds that you can't help but know everyone. None did, so I passed.

Meanwhile, hubby and I suspect one house in our neighborhood may be rented to illegals provided through LL church contacts. We can't prove it, but that was our takeaway from our lengthy conversation with the LL. At least 2 year tenants now, they are quiet and never seen.

If you know you are renting to illegals you may get in trouble if it can be proven. That is why I would ask for a I-9 forms. I had to do it for all I hired at my last job. I only ran across suspected terrorists after 911. They claimed to be in Med school, the same year as all my other Med students in the same year. I passed on them after asking all my tenants if they knew him. Of the small class of Meds that you can't help but know everyone. None did, so I passed.

Meanwhile, hubby and I suspect one house in our neighborhood may be rented to illegals provided through LL church contacts. We can't prove it, but that was our takeaway from our lengthy conversation with the LL. At least 2 year tenants now, they are quiet and never seen.

"In the beginning it was endearing to hear them adjust to the idioms used in English"

I was born here and am still adjusting to that.

Hoosier,

I have not read the entire thread but here's where I am:

we rent to several groups of men who do no speak English.

During the previous administration they were bringing their wives and children to Indiana so the group of 4 men turned into a need for 3 homes.

It is ILLEGAL for a LL to even ASK, require, or just hint about citizenship. I cannot SUGGEST there are other Mexican people in a certain neighborhood they might like.

I used to have a "Little Mexico" - 4 homes side by side and they guys all shared BBQ beer, big screen TVs were new...It was great for them and I got 4 houses rented.

Over time I had no clue who actually lived there - they just kept paying the rent as cousins/uncles moved in and out.

They are all working and have cash, not like the native applicants. So yes they are taking up available housing.