Tenant Screening Tips for Landlords

Tenant screening is one of the most important things you can do to be a successful landlord. Lots of people can seem like they would be good tenants but it's critical that you take the right steps to ensure you get the very best tenant - one who will pay on time and take care of your property. In our business, we have worked hard to develop a very strong and thorough screening process. Over the years, we have learned a lot about what’s important and below are some tips to help you place the best tenant.

Credit Check

Sometimes this is the only thing people do, and it’s not enough. There are many resources out there that will do a credit check for you. Check the credit to see if the potential tenants pay their bills, have bankruptcies, or have open collections and delinquent accounts. You can get a good financial picture by running a credit check.

Income Verification

Make sure the prospective tenants qualify in terms of income. Our rule of thumb is that a tenant’s gross monthly income must be at least three times the monthly rental rate. So, for a $2,000 rental, they need to earn at least $6,000 gross income monthly. You also need to review their debts and make sure the ratio of income to debts is acceptable.

Employment Verification and Criminal Checks

It's important to verify any applicant's current employment status and to ensure that they actually make the income they stated on their application. Sometimes they don't match but making a call to verify is important and you can also confirm they still are employed where they say they are.

Criminal checks bring up lots of questions and can be tricky. You don’t want to violate any laws, but do a criminal check before you approve a tenant. We have been surprised at what we have found on occasion and this type of background check will again, ensure you get the right tenant in your home.

Landlord Reference

Get a reference from at least one previous landlord. Talk to the current landlord or even the one before the current landlord. Ask if they paid their rent on time and took care of the property. We recently had a landlord mention the applicant's dog but surprisingly, there was no dog on the application we received. Previous landlords can be very helpful so don't skip this step.

Make sure to gather all of the information above on your rental application. Bottom line... do your due diligence and take the time to find the right tenant. A quick tenant that is not carefully screened can be more costly than having your property vacant a little longer. Be sure to comply with all fair housing laws while screening and accepting or denying an applicant. Consistency is key. Develop your process and stick to it and treat everyone the same.