Real Estate Community Forum

Awhile ago I was looking for an apartment and came across a duplex home where the owner lived upstairs and was renting out the downstairs. She was very kind and showed me the apartment and afterwards gave me an application to complete. The application asked for my previous address, where I worked, how much in rent I was paying in my previous apartment, a list of three references, and my social security number. I reluctantly gave her my social security number, but I felt very uncomfortable giving it to her because of the the high amount of ID theft going on these days. You just can't trust anyone with your personal information anymore because it can always fall into the wrong hands. So what should I do the next time I'm asked for my social security number on an application? Do I have any legal rights?

It is perfectly legal for the landlord to ask for your social security # in order to perform a credit check on you to see if you are a good risk. Note, they are not allowed to use it for any other purpose.

It is smart to be careful about who you give this private information to however keep in mind that you should always check your credit report every 6 months to insure it is correct.

Hope this helps.

Good Luck

I can understand the importance of doing a credit check on individuals who are interested in renting an apartment, but I will only give my social security number if the place is a reputable apartment complex. There is a lot of identity theft going on these days and giving out your social security number to anyone is extremely risky. In my opinion, there really should be a better way to find out your credit history without submitting your social security number to total strangers. My policy is, if the landlord looks shady, I will not give out my social security number to him. I'd rather continue looking for an apartment than rick my chance of having someone steal my identity. Does anyone agree with me?