Just as when advertising your apartment or discussing it over the phone, you must avoid overt and implied discrimination when showing the apartment. Never mention sex, race, color, national origin, religion, disabilities, age, or sexual orientation. And don't ask about the prospect's marital or family status.

You may be exempt from federal Fair Housing Act requirements if you have only one unit to rent, but you still have to follow local and state laws and most likely don't want to do anything that might provoke a fair housing complaint.

Even if your idea of a “perfect tenant” is an older person or couple, you cannot use that as criteria when you select a tenant. Only housing specifically designated by the city as a retirement community or senior housing can legally be rented to “seniors only.” These codes often are more stringent than the state and federal requirements. Check them out first.

So what if a family with six kids wants to rent your apartment? If the unit only has two bedrooms, you can turn that family down, based on the two-persons-per-bedroom, plus one, occupancy guidelines established by HUD.