You rental property is probably your most expensive asset. You are about to allow a complete stranger to move into it, supported by laws that make it
extremely difficult to get them back out again in the event of any problems.
A credit check and tenant reference starts to build a picture of the person who wants to
become your tenant, giving you information that will help you
to make a more informed decision about whether they are the right person to become your tenant, rather
than just relying on your instincts after meeting
them only once or twice.
You may also find that the terms of your landlord insurance insist of tenants being referenced for cover to be valid. This is not something you want to be arguing about with
your insurance company when you're trying to make a claim! Can you imagine how you'd feel with a £10000 repair bill for a leak because your insurance wouldn't pay out over a
technicality like you not having a professional reference carried out on your tenant prior to letting them move in?
Credit checks and reference checks of course only tell half the story. They don't tell you anything about the
subject's behaviour as a tenant, which is quite important!
Put bluntly it is quite possible for someone to pass all these
checks and still be a complete rotter! How you may ask? Well, for the sake of ease most landlords evict
on a mandatory 'non fault' Section 21 notice which does not get a CCJ (County Court Judgement) awarded
against the tenant, so he can move from property to property and serial offend whilst maintaining
a clean official record. We have partnered with Letmatch,
the only UK authorised outlet of the international Bad Tenants database so that our landlords get free access to the database. Once we've completed your prospective tenant's reference
and credit check you will receive an email with a link to click to get access to the database as a final 'belt and braces' check on your prospect.
In summary, these checks allow you to:
- Make sure your prospect is who they say they are
- Make sure they have a basic ability to pay for the tenancy at the outset
- Make sure they have no known adverse debts against them
- Get rent guarantee insurance for prospects who pass the checks