How to Get a Rental History

Before you rent out any apartment, find out the applicant's rental history.

All landlords want to rent out their properties to responsible, reliable tenants, which is why the majority of landlords require prospective tenants to provide a rental history. Landlords can then verify the information provided and make their decision whether or not to rent their property to a specific person. There are also several services that allow landlords to search the rental histories of prospective tenants online for a fee. Using a combination of both of these methods can help landlords to ensure that they choose a tenant who will pay their rent on time and take good care of the landlord's property during their tenancy.

Instructions

1. Ask applicants for the phone numbers of their previous landlords. On your rental application, you can also ask for the length of each tenancy and the reasons for ending tenancy. If an applicant is unwilling or unable to provide the phone number or contact information of a previous landlord, this may be a sign that they have a bad rental history or a bad experience with a landlord in the past. Once you have this information, you can verify the information provided to you.

2. Call the previous landlords of prospective applicants. Ask them to verify the information provided by the applicant and ask for information from them about their impression of the applicant as a tenant.

3. As an extra measure, you may decide to pay for a rental history search of an applicant. Many companies offer this service online, and this is one way to verify whether or not the information provided to you by an applicant is accurate if you are not able to speak with a previous landlord and verify it yourself.

References

• You Check Credit: Rental History
• RPP: Tenant Screening