Screening tenants

As a landlord renting accommodation, it is imperative that you screen tenants prior to accepting them into your house or flat share.  The reason for this is that a bad tenant could cause you more problems than you would like.

If planned correctly, there are up to four opportunities for you to screen potential tenants:

First contact

The first contact, if using RoomBuddies.com would be via the messaging system in response to your advert.  Here they may ask to arrange for a viewing or for more details about the shared accommodation, rent, deposit and so on.  You can answer their questions and ask some of your own such as what their reasons for moving are, how long they anticipate staying for and their employment status - remember, a serious tenant will always be happy to answer any questions which you ask them.

Property viewing

If you feel happy with them, you can agree to arrange for them to view the property.  When they arrive, there are certain things which could give you an insight to what they are like as a person and use to influence your decision, including:

• Are they punctual?
• What condition is the car that they drive in? (If their car is messy, untidy and badly looked after, this could be a reflection on how they will treat the house or flat)
• What is their personal appearance like?
• Are they polite and careful when walking around and viewing the property?

When you have finished showing them around the property, do not commit to anything other than that you will consider their application and get back to them as soon as possible, this will give you time to carry out credit checks and references, if given.

Selecting tenants

Things to consider when making your final decision:

• Does everything that they have said match up?
• Will they fit in with the current housemates or flatmates?
• Is their job secure and will they be able to pay the rent each month?

If you are contacting their referees, keep in mind that their current landlord may be eager to get rid of them, so it may be worth trying to contact the landlord prior to their current one for a more honest evaluation.

Once you have decided on who you will accept as a tenant, contact them by telephone and arrange for them to sign the tenancy agreement and finalise all the smaller details.  Then contact the applicants that you have decided to turn down and be prepared for them to ask why they were unsuccessful.

Tenant credit checks

One of the biggest risks that a landlord will face when renting out a property is being paid the rent on time. Therefore one part of the screening process that is almost imperative to do, is to carry out credit checks on all potential tenants. 

The credit check results will be able to tell landlords about the possible tenant’s previous financial history, which will include their credit rating, court judgements, and other information which will aide making a decision as to whether this candidate is financially viable.

There many websites offering to carry out Tenant Credit Checks, a quick Google search will prove this.  If using a letting agency, they should carry out these checks on your behalf, but make sure that they do.

Signing the tenancy agreement

Now that you have decided on a tenant, you should arrange for them to sign a tenancy agreement.  If you do not have one, it would be advisable to speaking to a solicitor to drawing one up or buying one online from a website such as Compact Law.

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