When you’re renting out a property it is advisable to check your prospective tenant’s references. References from previous landlords are particularly useful as they can tell you about things such as whether the rent was paid on time and whether they took care of the property. Collecting the following information will help you to check prospective tenant’s references:
- Current and previous addresses
- Contact details
- Details of who will be living in the property
- Employment status
- Details of whether they will be applying for Housing Benefit
Checking references will help you make an informed decision about whether you want to offer someone a tenancy or not.
- References can be personal or from an employer;
- Some landlords ask for bank references but there may be a charge for these;
- It is best to write to a referee rather than accepting a letter from the prospective tenant as forgeries can occur;
- You may wish to visit the tenant in their existing home to see how they keep it;
- You may also want a tenant to provide a guarantor against whom you can make a claim if the tenant defaults on payments;
- It is always wise to check out a guarantor too.
Try to be helpful to other landlords by being cooperative when asked for a reference for a previous or current tenant.
Right to rent checks
Under the Immigration Act 2014 all private landlords are required to ensure that the tenants renting their property have a right to rent in the UK. Before the start of a new tenancy (or renewal of tenancy agreement for existing tenants), you must check all tenants aged 18 and over have a right to rent in the UK, even if:
- they’re not named on the tenancy agreement;
- there’s no tenancy agreement;
- the tenancy agreement isn’t in writing.
If the tenant is only allowed to stay in the UK for a limited time, you need to do the check in the 28 days before the start of the tenancy.
What to check
You should ask to see original documents. There are a number of acceptable documents a landlord can accept and details of these can be found at www.gov.uk.
You should take copies of these documents and keep these copies for the duration of the tenancy and for the following year after the tenancy has expired.
If you need guidance on carrying out checks on your tenant’s you can contact the landlord helpline 0300 069 9799.