How to Screen Roommates for Your Central Iowa House Hack

The right way to screen a roommate or tenant for your house hack is one written process, used every time: set your criteria before you advertise - verifiable income, rental history and landlord references, credit, a signed lease and written house rules - then apply them the same way, in the same order, to every applicant. The criteria measure the application, never the person. That keeps you on the right side of fair housing law and gives you a decision you can document and explain.

House hacking raises the stakes, because the unit you are filling may be down the hall or across a shared wall. Whether it is a bedroom in Ankeny, a duplex side in Des Moines or a basement unit in Ames, the process is the same. I house hack myself, and this is the step where I recommend being the most disciplined.

Why a written process is the whole strategy

Screening can feel personal when you will share a kitchen or a driveway. That is exactly why the decision cannot be personal. The federal Fair Housing Act makes it unlawful to make or publish any notice, statement or advertisement for the rental of a dwelling that indicates a preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status or national origin (42 U.S.C. 3604(c)). Iowa's Civil Rights Act, Iowa Code 216.8, covers housing and advertising the same way and adds creed and sexual orientation.

You will hear that small owner-occupied rentals are exempt from fair housing law. Do not build your plan on that. The exemptions are narrow, and both federal law (42 U.S.C. 3603(b)) and Iowa law (Iowa Code 216.12) say they do not reach advertising. Even where one might apply, I recommend the same written criteria for every applicant, and a conversation with a real estate attorney before you rely on any exemption at all.

The practical answer is a written process. When the same criteria decide every application, the decision rests on documents and numbers, with a paper trail to show it.

Step 1: Write your criteria before you list the unit

Decide the standard first, put it in writing and do not change it mid-search. I recommend covering five things:

• Income. A written income standard and the documents you accept to verify it - recent pay stubs, a letter from an employer, benefit award letters or bank statements. Treat every verifiable source the same way. For illustration only: if your standard is verified gross monthly income of three times the rent, a $700 room requires $2,100 a month.
• Rental history. How many years of history you ask for, and exactly what you verify with prior landlords.
• Credit. The standard you apply to the screening report, written as a rule rather than a feeling.
• No prior rental history. What you do when an applicant has no landlord references - for example, whether you accept a qualified guarantor - applied the same way to everyone.
• The lease and house rules. Lease term, rent, deposit, utilities and your written house rules, all ready before the first showing.

If you are weighing any criminal-history policy, have a real estate attorney review it first; the FTC notes that a blanket policy of refusing to rent to anyone with a criminal record may violate the Fair Housing Act. Set the rent before the income standard, since one drives the other - my guide on how to set the right rent for your Central Iowa rental walks through it.

Step 2: Advertise the property, never the person

Your listing should describe the unit and the terms: rent, deposit, utilities, lease length, parking, shared spaces and the house rules. Then add one line that tells applicants how the decision works - every application is reviewed against the same written criteria, in the order it is received.

Leave out any description of who you hope will apply. The federal rule covers statements as well as ads, so hold your listing, social posts, texts and showing conversations to the same standard: describe the space and the numbers, and let the written criteria do the rest.

I first covered roommate screening in the video below; this written process is the updated version I recommend today.

Step 3: Run every application the same way, in the same order

This is where most of the risk lives. I recommend this sequence for every applicant, without exceptions:

1. One application for everyone. Same form, same fee if you charge one, same list of documents. It collects rental history, income, landlord references and written authorization for screening.
2. Written authorization, then the screening report. The FTC says written permission from the applicant helps show a permissible purpose, and you must certify you will use the report only for housing.
3. Verify income with the documents your criteria list, not with a conversation.
4. Call prior landlords with the same short script: was rent paid on time, is any balance owed, was proper notice given, and what condition was the unit in at move-out.
5. Walk through the lease and house rules with the same script each time. Talk about the terms, not the applicant's personal life, and confirm the applicant is comfortable with every expectation before anything is signed.
6. Decide against the criteria and write it down. Review complete applications in the order received, and offer the unit to the first one that meets every written criterion.

One federal rule to know: if you deny an application, require a co-signer or ask for a larger deposit based even partly on a consumer report, the FTC says the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires you to give the applicant an adverse action notice. Build that notice into your process now.

Step 4: Put the lease, house rules and deposit in writing

Once an applicant qualifies, the paperwork protects both of you, and Iowa's landlord-tenant law is specific on two points.

House rules. Under Iowa Code 562A.18, a written rule is enforceable against a tenant only if it meets several conditions, including that it applies to all tenants in a fair manner, is explicit enough that the tenant knows what compliance looks like, and the tenant had notice of it when entering the rental agreement. Quiet hours, guests, shared spaces, parking and chores belong in a written document the tenant receives before signing.

Security deposit. Iowa Code 562A.12 caps a security deposit at two months' rent, held in a federally insured bank, savings and loan or credit union, separate from your personal funds. Within 30 days after the tenancy ends and you receive the tenant's mailing address or delivery instructions, return the deposit or send a written statement of the specific reasons for anything withheld. Miss that statement and you forfeit the right to withhold any of it; bad-faith retention can add punitive damages of up to twice the monthly rent on top of actual damages.

Have a real estate attorney review your lease and house rules once, especially if you will share living space with your tenant. For the broader checklist, start with Iowa landlord basics for first-time rental owners.

One practical tip from my original video still holds: set up online rent collection with autopay from day one, so you never chase a payment. Apartments.com, for example, offers landlords free online rent collection along with screening and online leases, and renters can turn on automatic monthly payments.

What this means for your strategy: treat screening like underwriting. You would never buy a duplex on a gut feeling, and the rent that covers part of your mortgage deserves the same discipline: written criteria, verified documents and the same order every time. That is the straightforward way to fill the unit, protect your house hack's income and stay compliant.

Where to start

Start with the numbers. Run the property through the Deal Calculator with the rent you plan to charge, so your income standard and your cash flow come from the same figure. Still evaluating properties? How to analyze a rental property in Central Iowa before you buy covers the underwriting side.

Then write your criteria, house rules and listing before the unit is ready, and have a real estate attorney look them over once. The house hacking playbook covers the strategy side. And if you want a second set of eyes on a property or a rent number, reach out - no pressure, and we can run the numbers together.

Payment and rate figures here are illustrative examples, not a quote. What you actually qualify for depends on your credit, the property, and the day you lock. Contact your lender for specifics, or reach out and I can point you to a few reputable local lenders if you are looking for somewhere to start.

Jackson Krile | Flanders Team | RE/MAX Real Estate Center
515.490.8614 · Jackson@FlandersTeam.com