It is one of the main responsibilities of the landlord that he must carry out a detailed investigation on the tenant before giving him the keys. It is better for you being a landlord you should not be hesitant in asking him relevant questions and ensure whether the information provided is true.
The initial test:
First of all you must give a list to the forthcoming tenant. This list may carry all those points of information that you will need regarding the tenant. You should always ask him to provide it by himself and also bear all the expenses incurred in getting this data. This would be the very first steps which help you to save yourself from all the fraudsters.
Tenant’s identity:
After the initial step then you have to take another step for the identity of the tenant. You have to make sure who the tenant is? You have to make sure that the information he is providing about him is correct. You must always ask the prospective tenant for his recent photograph along with a photocopy of his passport and you must always hold on it just to be on the safe side. In case if the tenant is outside of the European Union then you must also ask for his work permit or visa. These are the basic legal documents which you must ask from the tenant.
Bank statement:
Another important thing which you must keep in mind that you should ask the tenant for his bank statement of last three months. You can double check this statement from his employer that money is coming in from the employer.
Verification from the employer:
There are many other ways to check the credibility of the tenant. You must keep in mind that the tenant can pay rent or not. You can ask him to provide a letter from a senior officer at his place of work. This letter will help you to know time period for which the tenant has been an employee, the type of employment contract; whether it’s permanent or temporary and also his salary.
This letter is not enough for the proof:
you must take as much as necessary steps to know the credibility of the tenant. It is better for you must never rely on the letter alone. Another way is that you should call the place of work and ask to be put through the relevant person and talk to him to verify the data in the letter.
Reference from the previous landlord:
There is another way to check the credibility of a tenant that a letter from the last landlord is also important. The letter form previous landlord must contain the time frame of the tenancy period, amount of rent and if it was always paid on time and comments on tenant’s reliability, trustworthiness and honesty. There is possibility that he might lie to get relieve from the situation of unsuitable tenant. It is better for you to ask him reference number of the landlord and contact him to confirm his credibility.