Can an apartment complex require photocopy of your Driver's License before showing unit? Why do they need it?

Question

Can an apartment complex require photocopy of your Driver's License before showing unit? Why do they need it? In this age of ID theft isn't this just asking for trouble?

Ok I understand the safety thing the agent copied our names and address from the licenses onto a card but then she wanted to photocopy them. I have heard that many car dealers use this trick to run an unauthorized credit check on you while you are on a test drive, this is bad. Worse yet would be the agent turning around and selling he info to an id thief.

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Mary B
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This is a VERY common practice and there are a few reasons they ask for it.

#1 Marketing...it's a quick way to get your name, address for follow-up and future mailings.

Well this is a reason to refuse!

When we were looking in CA they asked to see the licenses and wrote down the info.
Then we ran into this we want to photocopy it and hold onto your License bit in NV.

Answer 1

It is common practice in CA, they even lock the copy up. Sadly apartment managers have been attacked and this helps protect them.

Answer 2

Really? Because every state that I know of has an identification card. Go ask your local DMV about a non-driver license, they are all labeled "ID Card" or something similar. My state uses the term "driver license" and "identification card" almost interchangely at times in statues. The police department may have had complaints with people dumping trash illegally in the dumpster. At the request of the ownership, I think it would be perfectly reasonable for an officer to check out the people at the dumpster. Showing an ID card, driver license, ect is probably the quickest way to do that. You probably also give the officer information verbally, but having an ID card is probably going to put him more at ease than you just promising you are who you say you are. I don't fully believe your story, so I can't comment on whether or not that officer was in the right. But based on what you say, I don't think the encounter was "random". And I think asking the officer politely why you are being stopped is probably going to get you more answers than trying to lecture the officer on issues you probably knows more about than you. Added: I disagree with some of the other posters on here though about being required to carry identification on you. I am about to walk my dogs and I probably won't grab my wallet simply because I don't need it. I have a hard time believing that I am breaking the law by walking around my neighborhood without an ID card. What if I never got an ID? Is there a law requiring me to go to the DMV at a certain age and securing an ID? I don't think so, especially if I never intend on driving or doing any banking. Inconvenient sure, but feasible I can live a life without doing either of those things. I may be wrong and will fully admit if someone can show me state statues to the contrary. But absent driving, going to a secure area (such as an airport), ect I don't think a person needs an ID with them. Granted it might help with police encounters.

Answer 3

Monday Nov 23 2015, went to Highland Woods Apartment Homes Apartment Building located at 555 N 7th St, Sierra Vista, AZ 85635 on a studio apartment advertised for $360. She asked me for my photo ID, which I gave her. Then she said let's go see the apartment. I reminded here that she still had my Arizona Driver's license to which she replied that that it would remain on her desk while showing me the apartment.

I have never been asked to surrender and have my photo ID withheld from me during a routine inspection of a a tenancy unit.

She placed my photo ID in plain sight unsecured on top of her desk with an open door policy office. To me that showed an extreme lack of respect of my security of ID. Then she went to her supervisor in the back who came out. First I was told it was 'policy' then she lied to lied me and said, 'that it was AZ state law.'

Not only is it not Arizona state law, I was under the impression that I merely had to show her my photo ID and that it would be given back to me. I did not expect to surrender and have my photo ID withheld from me. Could this be a attempt to swipe all information from DL without my permission while I was looking at the rental unit? Or could it be for some other reason other than the obvious obfuscation that it was "for the safety of the rental agent"? I am wondering if this policy is evenly applied to all potential tenants or just certain ones that look Mexican?


Surrender your driver's license to tour apartment complex: Is this common? Can't stand people treating me like a criminal, or a rapist. The first thing that popped into my mind is that they didn't want to rent to me. I've been renting 30+ years and have NEVER needed to hand over my license to look at a prospective apartment.

This would be a big red flag about the neighborhood. This violated my "do not allow unknown people any control over my movements" policy. If they want to photocopy it, they fill out a form to show any apt then that's OK but that is entirely different from surrendering and withholding the original. The office workers could have been identity thieves that swipe my ID while out I was on the tour. Only police officers should withhold a license while checking on information during a stop.

Is it a little disincentive to keep the bad guys from using an apartment tour to scout break-in routes? Not sure I see how this would work. They come under the pretext of viewing the apartment, surrender their license, view the apartment, and retrieve their license. Now they can still pursue what ever nefarious plan they had in mind (like breaking into an empty apartment). How does holding their license during the tour discourage them from breaking in at a later time? I'd guess if a criminal was smart, they'd get a fake ID to leave.

Answer 4

This is a VERY common practice and there are a few reasons they ask for it.

#1 Marketing...it's a quick way to get your name, address for follow-up and future mailings.

#2 Safety. Criminals are less likely to attack an agent if they know a copy of their ID is sitting in an office.

Answer 5

They do it to protect their employees. There have been cases of people asking to see an apartment and then attacking the employee once they get there. Usually, they are in an empty apartment without anyone to see them. If the person looking at the department is required to leave a copy of ID at the office then it is less likely for an attack to happen. The attacker would know that he/she would be easier to catch with the copy of the ID at the office. Besides, you would have to give them all of this information anyway if you decided to get the apartment.

Answer 6

They ask for it simply for safety reasons. This way if you were to commit a crime or assult the leasing agent, they have a positive id on the person who they last showed the property to.

Realtors also use this as a safety measure before they show houses to first-time clients. Don't be turned off by this idea. It is simply a safety precaution.

Answer 7

This is a common security precaution. More than one rental agent at a complex has been assaulted, raped, or even murdered by a prospective "tenant". With a copy of the ID in the office, someone with nefarious intent is likely to think long and hard about their plans.

Answer 8

I'd refused to give them a photo copy and leave right away and when at home that same day , and if the rent review office is still open you should give them a call and ask if this photo copy is ok or not as you was saying " In this age of ID theft isn't this just asking for trouble? '' !

When and if you do call them for info don't for get to ask if they have any info booklets about renters/landlords rights. Its good to know what your rights are in this day and age!

Don't give out any of your personal info to a landlord with out knowing your rights frist.

Answer 9

I wouldn't let them copy my drivers license, I normally give it to them to hold until I come back. You are right that in this day and age you wouldn't want a copy of your license floating around. But in this day and age, would you go into a apartment that can be locked from the inside without someone from your office knowing who that person is?

Answer 10

I went to visit a friend and the manager said I could not visit my friend unless I surrendered my ID, so they could hold it until I left. I refused and we stood out on the sidewalk to talk. I cant see how this is legal. You want to see my ID fine, you want a copy fine, but take possession of it, no way.