Owners are quick to approve a tenant to get someone in the house to cover payments.

If the tenant that they approved turns sour, owners are quick to blame the agent.  Who else is there to blame?

As a property manager, I throughly screen our tenants, credit score, eviction/judgment history, criminal check, employment verification and if they pass recommend them to our Owner Client.  If they become behind on their rent, its the TENANT's responsibility and my only responsibility if they will not pay is to make sure they are legally evicted.  NO PAY, NO STAY!

If the owner/property manager made the decision it's theirs to own.  "You shot it Tarzan, you eat it"

As a Property Manager I cannot blame the agent who referred the tenant. Our job is to run the application and qualify the tenant. That is not the procuring agents job

if the client accepted the tenant, you're done with any responsibility.... you can't control whether people pay or not.... if they have a good history, it doesn't mean they're good forever....there's risk with everyone....even the very best...it's just less risk with the very best!!

Not an ounce unless it's my tenant. 

What representations did you make about the tenant?  What is the basis of the recommendation?  Have you done a thorough background check to discover potential problems?  A credit check alone is not sufficient.

There are cases where owners have sued property managers for negligent tenant screening and costs of eviction.  Does the owner review the application and approve the tenant or rely on the licensed real estate professional?  What services does the written agreement include?

If they decide NOT to use a property Manger, ours or other, then NOT MY responsibility, and carefully explained beforehand!

For the good, the bad, and the unfortunate... Agents cannot bear ANY responsibility for someone not paying their rent. If there is some "undisclosed" info that the agent kept to themselves about this particular renter, now we are into a different arena that would be very different..........Just my two cents. 

NONE!  I bring potential renters to the owner, most often they are not my client.  Even if they are, once their credit and background is run, it is not my decision and I have zero liability for their future behavior.  I list and lease, I am not a management company.

No as long as they were checked out and everything was fine, it's not my responsibility after that.  

None whatsover as long as you did your best to provide professional services.

If the agent has provided a tenant and the landlord has reviewed their credit history and verified their income the landlord accepts them at that point in time based on that third party information.  The Tenant Rep would not typically be responsible for anything that happens after the lease is signed as long as the agent didn't missrepresent.  If a tenant signs a lease and moves in then looses their employment and can't make the lease payment or just decides to default there is nothing the referring agent could have done or could have known about?  Anyone else?

None. The owner makes the decision on which tenant to accept. I don't do property managements.

Good morning Jillian , none because at the end if they are not using a management company they make the final desicion of who is going to rent their property , great question have a super month

I do not take on any responsibility for a tenant who goes sour. My job is to screen them and if they have met the Landlords' requirements I then forward the name on to the Owner. The Owner ultimately makes the decision.  Once that's done ... my responsibility has been completed.  I've only had one bad apple and the Owner did not blame me at all. In fact he had me find him another tenant ... which I did.

None. The landlord either has a PM or manages that task himself. So, agents bring tenants that are pre - qualified but it's the PM or landlord that should confirm their validity and financial qualifications of the tenant. 

I am myself a landlord. I do not think it is the agent's responsibility if the tenant doesn't pay. It is the owners job to vet them. Our job to help them find a home. 

Absolutely none whatsoever! We find the tenant. Once creditis run, incomes verified, etc. and the owner accepts the tenant your (my) responsibilty is over.

Zero responsibility on my end. When the potential client/tenant calls and wants to see a certain rental(s), I Google and Facebook them, I meet with them at the office and have them sign a Buyer/Tenant Rep Agreement. I had one tenant tell me she had no pets but was taking care of a friend's 2 large dogs. Told her the properties she wanted to view were not pet friendly. I know it was not my place but told the property manager about it and informed the potential tenant that no pets were allowed on the premises. Too much pet damage in the past. She would not sign an agreement. So I didn't move any further. The listing agent called me and asked if I knew the name. The gal was not approved. After a potential client has moved in it is not our responsibility what happens after the fact!

What does your agreement say? (You do have an agreement, don't you?

Jillian, I think it may be a " reflection of selection "...really. We can not control what others do, or when they decide to pay despite what there POF, source of income or how great their Credit Background is, but still,  it somehow is a reflection to us as the Agent/Property Manager to the Client.

Just experienced that. Someone with claimed FICO score of 780 are 3 months late. Gave them Xmas asking them to vacate in January.  The home was littered with belongings.  I have not spoken to the paid agent for awhile.  Flooring was damaged. 

It all depends on who made the decision to rent to the tenant. If the owner made the final decision based on the facts you presented, it would be their responsibility.

I don't have any rentals and one of the reason is that I don't want the owners calling when they have an issue such as you described.

Zero, I did not take them to raise.

Jillian Jno Charles I would say beyond initial qualifying the renter no responsibility. It's up to the landlord to check credit history and references. Of course if the property is property managed by a real estate firm, they have the responsibility for checking out the renter.

Glad I don't have to deal with renters. 

do your due diligence, give the landlord the information and move on - you are done. 

None,  they make the choice. I do a few high end rentals and all I can do is a credit and criminal background check and an interview. No promises.

Zero. The renters that I place have gone through a lot to get into the rental. They typically have to provide a recent credit report, letter of reference from previous landlord, as well as filling out the rental application and providing job history and banking info. If the rental client passes the qualifications of the above, that is all I can do as a real estate agent. 

I am not a lawyer, but if you did all the required and agreed upon screening and were honest with your client what else can you do.  I see no responsibility.  

None!  I supply the tenant and the owner or agent runs their credit and does a background check.  I don't approve the tenant or provide any information.  Easy peasy in Scottsdale!

This is one I could argue both ways. But it is still up to the landlord to do their due diligence on a prospective tenant. Even if I didn't have any real responsiblity, I would still feel bad.

All of it.  I mean, it's my fault, right?  

Come on...  

I once helped a buyer purchase a home.  He was pre-approved with a great credit score, good income, and he showed that he was a strong buyer.  

We closed on the home and he moved in, happy as a clam.  

I find out a year later from a neighbor that he never made the first mortgage payment.  He bought the house just to piss off his ex wife, and he let it go into foreclosure.  

Was if my fault?  HELL NO.  Not even close.  

It sounds like you need to de-tach yourself from this situation and stop taking on other people's problems.  

Even on our own properties we manage ourselves we have a property manager do a full check on the tenant. Ultimately it is owner beware but I would do this at the very least to insure your reputation as a professional who believes in due diligence. 

I don't think any responsibility for the agent. 

Theresa, I put a tenant in the property after a credit check and employment verification. I got a copy from the hOA asociation that the neighbor complained that the tenant was noisy and the dog was running around the townhome.  The tenants had signed the MIMO that the tenant understood there is no petd allowed.  When I contacted the tenants, they said they got the puppy for their 4 year old and it would break his heard if they had to get rid of the puppy.  Their lease is up in 6 month, and guess what, they are out of there, we will not extend the lease.

One of the reasons, I don't like doing rentals, you never know. With all of the extensive background checks, credit checks, credit scores, work history, you would think you have a winner.

Just had a bad rental, Waited them out till the end of lease, broke even with the security deposit and my client stuck with me.

I think my statistics are 80% good and 20% problem tenants. I let my owners know that up front. And the final decision is up to them.

We can't assume how people will handle their financial obligations; other than provide the Landlord with the information requested.  However, I always inform Landlords that they always should send the 5 day notice to any tenants on the sixth day rent was due.  It will certainly inform all tenants that the rent is past due, landlord is serious and now a fine is added to their rent.  Good tenants will usually apologize and never get it late again, but those that are late within the first few months are generally the problem children. There is no way to foresee a problem tenant.  It is up to the landlord to handle their tenants, but I can help with documents or referrals, if needed.

Jillian Jno Charles None.  As long as I did my due diligence on my clients behalf and sent them the pertinent information for them to make an informed decision, it is their responsibility after that.

Jillian, since they approved the tenants, they can take it over after signing the lease. Yout can't stop them blaming anyone, however it should not be you!

I may make a recommendation as to which tenant to select, and I tell the owner why I think it's a good match. The owner makes the actual choice. a couple owners went contrary to my recommendation and one ended up with a punctual tenant but a trashed house, the other got a punctual tenant who only stayed one year. Owner was very specific that he wanted a long term tenant but selected a couple that said from the beginning that they wanted to buy a house.

I have a pretty decent track record and although I do all those things you need to do (references, credit check, rent history check, etc) I also have key questions and a dialogue down that will point out warning signs.

But I do warn them that although we do all this there is potential and there will always be potential for a tenant not to pay rent for whatever reason. But we minimize that risk.

Zero - the lease is between the landlord and the tenant

None.  It's the owners responsibility to research who they wish to have in their property.

One of the reasons I refer those Clients to Agents who have created this as a niche.