In a previous bulletin we discussed how to find a tenant through marketing and advertising your property. As we discussed, it is usually quite easy to find tenants who want to live in your property. However, finding a good tenant who pays the rent on time and keeps the property clean and tidy is a little more difficult. A careful methodical approach should ensure that you pick a very good tenant.
Below I explain the procedures I undertake to ensure that I select the right tenant for my properties.
Listen to your Gut Instinct
For me, the most important initial consideration is the gut feeling I get about the tenant when I meet them for their property viewing. If I get a bad feeling about the tenant I will never let the property to them, even if there appears to be no logical reason for my concerns. As a landlord you quickly develop a sense of what makes a good or a bad tenant and usually you are right. In the past I have gone against my gut instinct and it proved to be a long, difficult and expensive process to evict the tenant when they stopped paying the rent.
Usually, if a tenant is late for their viewing and doesn’t offer an apology, is particularly scruffy or behaves suspiciously at the viewing, I will discount them straight away. The tenant’s appearance may seem irrelevant but I find it is a good indicator of how well they will treat the property whilst they are living in it. A tenant who pays the rent on time is only a desireable one if, when they vacate the property, they also return it to you in the same condition it was in before the tenancy began.
Of course, if I like a tenant at the viewing it doesn’t mean I will offer them the property straight away. It just means that their application will move to the next stage of the checking process.
Collect the Tenant’s Details
The first part of my formal checking process is to ask the tenant to fill in an application form in which the data I collect includes their full name, date of birth, current address, previous addresses for the past 3 years, national insurance number and employment history. The information I collect here can tell me if they have moved around a lot and are unlikely to stay in the property long. It also provides me with details that would help me to trace them in the event that they vacated the property owing me money.
The form is quite comprehensive and if a potential tenant shows any resistance to providing this information I take this as a sign that they probably have something to hide and are therefore not a suitable candidate for my property.
Charge an Application fee
I believe it is wise to charge an application fee to a tenant who has expressed a desire to move in to the property and completed you tenant data form. Although this will offset the costs you incur in the tenant selection process, I do not view this as a money making venture. By paying a fee at this stage (I usually charge £79) the tenant is demonstrating their commitment to your property and is much less likely to go looking at alternative properties, whilst you carry out your checks.
Collect References
Assuming that the prospective tenant has completed the application form to your satisfaction and paid their application fee, you should then take up references. These should include an employer’s, bank, previous landlords’ and character reference. The employer’s reference (assuming they are in employment) is the most important as it gives some assurance that the tenant will be able to pay the rent.
Alternatively, if the tenant is going to be claiming local housing allowance to pay the rent you should ask for written proof of the tenant’s entitlement. Also try to establish if the tenant fits in to one of the categories that allows their rent to be paid directly to the landlord.
You should be aware that the applicant’s current landlord reference may not tell you the whole story as the landlord may be anxious to get rid of the tenant and thus provide a reference that is more positive than it really should be.
Do a Tenant Credit check
Complete a credit check on the tenant. There are numerous online companies providing this service and most are fairly cheap and very useful. They will pick up if the tenant has any County Court Judgments (CCJs) against them and will also verify that the employment and address information they have supplied on their application form is correct.
Get a Guarantor if required
The credit check will also provide an assessment of the tenant’s ability to afford the rental payments. If the check suggests they might have difficulty you would be wise to ask them to provide a guarantor who will commit to pay the rent in the event of the tenant defaulting. Of course, if your tenant does need a guarantor you must also credit check them to be sure they have the means to pay the rent, on top of their own commitments, if necessary.
If a tenant passes all of the above checks to your satisfaction it is very likely that they prove to be a good tenant for your property.
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