How to Clean Up your Social Media for Apartment Hunting

If you're in the market for a new apartment this spring you will probably be subject to a background check. Landlords tend to screen tenants by checking their credit reports, verifying their income and calling previous landlords. But when I was working for local landlords as an agent I would also plug tenants' names into search engines and social media sites as part of my standard background check procedure.

While not every landlord screens their tenants as thoroughly, I can definitely say I was not alone in using social media as a way of getting the full picture of an applicant. In a tight market, questionable content on your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or even your Reddit account can mean you lose out on your apartment of choice.

Today I'm going to go over precautions you should take with your social media accounts to make sure you are safe from the prying eyes of picky landlords.

• If you use a common account name it's very easy to jump from your Facebook to all of your other social media accounts. If your Facebook can be found at facebook.com/fluffybunny123, it's a safe bet that you'll also have that twitter handle. Lock it all down for the duration of your search. Gmail accounts were particularly useful as they can open up a route to view all your Youtube comments.
• Anything you've posted with your real name is subject to scrutiny. That includes photos, comments on news articles, public events to which you've RSVPed, your Youtube comments and your Meetup groups.
• While you cannot be denied housing based on your political affiliation in some areas of the country such as Washington, DC, Chicago has no such protections. Political contributions are made publicly searchable on sites such as Opensecrets. There's not much you can do to hide this, but if you are a political donor you should be aware that some Chicago landlords may deny you housing because of your donations or other political activism.
• Social media lockdowns for housing searches are a little different than lockdowns for job searches. In the case of housing background checks it isn't just your actions, but also your surroundings that are under review. A perfectly innocent selfie of you in the bathroom mirror can still lose you an apartment if the bathroom itself looks like a disaster area.
• Things you really need to hide include:
  • Photos of you using any substances, including cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana or harder drugs
  • Photos of you with any pets that aren't yours, especially if you're applying for a pet-free apartment
  • Photos of you with significant others or children who aren't on the application with you
  • Photos of your living space if it isn't looking 100% tidy.
  • Photos of you engaging in activism or actions that could get you arrested.
  • Comments about how much you hate your old landlord.
  • Comments about how you want to sue your landlord.
  • Comments about how you're looking for a job, calling in sick to work, or anything else that could imply that you're about to lose your source of income.
  • Anything pertaining to side jobs out of the home, unless you are ready to disclose to your landlord that you will be working from home. This includes Etsy crafting, Let's Plays & streaming video games, AirBNB, house concerts and daycare.
  • Anything pertaining to extreme home decoration - if your photos include painted walls or severely altered living spaces you could scare your new landlord.
  • Yelp reviews that show a trend of being nasty to customer support employees.
  • Any jobs on your LinkedIn profile that lasted for less than a year.
  • Any potentially loud or disruptive events that you hosted, unless they were clearly located outside the home.
  • Personal crowdfunding campaigns for emergency bailouts, especially campaigns to help you avoid eviction or fund medical treatments.
• If you're apartment hunting with roommates, make sure that they take the same social media precautions.
• Sometimes you can't control things that are posted about you, or you just won't have time to take the necessary steps to remove the information before beginning your apartment search. Sometimes this information is pretty damning, especially mugshots. Be prepared to explain these things to your new prospective landlords.
• Sometimes other people with the same name as you may behave badly on social media. It's worth doing a search on your name and your most common online handles across all major social media sites before beginning your apartment hunt. If you find someone else with your name has a messed up reputation online, include that in your game plan. Ask new potential landlords if they include social media in their background checks, and if they do, remind them that you have a common name.
• Asking a potential landlord if they use social media in their background checks is, in general, a good idea. If they are using social media to screen tenants they should have a consistent set of criteria and list of sites they check.
• Using your public social media presence as part of a background check is legal. However, if a landlord denies you housing based on a fair housing matter using information they obtained from your social media you would be within your rights to bring up the matter with an attorney.

Have you ever lost out on an apartment or a job because of your social media presence? Let us know what happened in the comments, and keep renting safely!