How are landlords navigating the complexity of potential applicants for properties?

Getting a bad tenant has always been a risk of the business and now perhaps a bit riskier. We reference all tenants through tenantref.co.uk which is good at showing up anything hidden. That’s exposed the liars so far and prospective tenants with something to hide usually shy away from being referenced.

You filter through questions before getting to the viewing stage.

This is the cost of doing business where all risk is placed on the provider and people are desperate for somewhere to live.

Be very upfront to prospective tenants that you will be very thorough, require a copy of their credit file, recent bank statements, references and possibly a guarantor. Ask pertinent questions about them when you meet them to get a feel for whether or not they are a decent person. All whilst being very polite and friendly of course.

Above all, never take pity on someone and give them a home because they need a roof over their head. Only take someone if, in your judgement, they are the sort of person that will respect both you and the property.

In the new RRA world, it is even more important to establish why the tenant wants the property and what his or her motivations are going forward as the last thing a landlord wants is multiple changeovers and voids because the tenant can give two months notice from day one. I think it is now essential to interview the applicants after all the usual checks have been completed satisfactorily. Applicants also need to have solid previous landlord references because you should be looking for experienced tenants who know the ropes and won’t suddenly put in a notice because they didn’t realise what renting involved.

Have a robust questionnaire to filter out the unsuitables? I didn’t know everyone had a right to view the property just because they applied… to save time, maybe just do an open day? Get everyone in all at once. Then take your time with the ones you want to interview/meet?

I let my agents deal with this side of things. The one and only time I found a tenant myself, was the first time I’d bought a property. We were doing it up, and she lived across the street and approached me about moving in, so I just let her have it! She was happy there for a long time, then suddenly, I’m not sure what happened… she developed some illness. She was in hospital. Her friend contacted me and I got the place back in immaculate condition. I was lucky. Gone are those days…