How to Screen Tenants for a Rental Property

Part of your responsibility as a landlord is screening your tenants.

You have successfully advertised, prepared and shown your rental property, and now a potential tenant is interested in signing a lease and renting from you. He has mentioned his current and past jobs, previous rental history and his credit rating. He sounds perfect, but is he as honest, trustworthy and legitimate as he claims? Have him fill out a standard lease application so you can screen and confirm that what he has told you is true.

Things You'll Need

• Residential Rent Application Form. See RESOURCES below for online form.
• Residential Lease Form. See RESOURCES below for online form.

Instructions

1. Have potential tenants fill out a standard rental property application. You can find them on the Internet, at office supply stores and in real estate books. Along with the basic contact information and a current address, make sure the application asks for a current landlord's name and phone number; rental history for the past three years with names and phone numbers of past landlords; current job title, salary, time at job and contact phone number; banking information including a checking or savings account number; and a Social Security number.

2. Check the applicant's photo identification to make sure the application matches the applicant.

3. Call the current landlord. Confirm rent amount and on-time payment history, and ask if there have been problems or complaints with the applicant.

4. Call the previous landlord. The former landlord can tell you whether the tenant paid on time and whether she left the home in good, clean order. Ask whether the entire deposit was returned; if it was not, get the details.

5. Confirm current employment, job title and salary. Call the applicant's employer and talk to someone in the human resources department to make sure the applicant has worked as long and in the capacity stated on the application. Most employers will not tell the salary amount, but you can ask whether the salary specified on the application is within range. If the employer cannot reveal the salary, ask yourself if the salary on the application seems reasonable for the job title.

6. Call the applicant's bank to confirm the funds. Some banks may reveal when the account was opened and its average balance.

7. Use the appliant's Social Security number if you plan to run a credit or criminal check.

Tips & Warnings

• Most of the time, an applicant's current landlord will give honest answers to your questions. However, some unscrupulous landlords may give excellent references for a bad tenant because they want to get rid of the a problem tenant.

References

• Money Crashers; How to Screen Potential Tenants – Questions, Credit & Background Check; Angela Colley
• Real Estate Investing Depot: Tenant Screening