Are you putting your house or flat on rent? But are you aware of the fact that tenant-related frauds are very much on the rise in our country? Therefore, you must be very careful while renting your property to the tenants. You must always make sure that these tenants are well-qualified for living on your property.
Choosing a good tenant will help you save yourself from various types of losses in the future such as property damage, non-payment of rent, and many more. A bad tenant might end up costing you a lot of money so it is very crucial to select a good tenant to live a stress-free life.
But how will you find good tenants to whom you can rent your property? This is where background verification of tenants plays a crucial role. A tenant’s background check would offer you an insight into whether you should rent them your property or not. So, do not risk your property by ending up with a bad tenant. Tenant background checks are essential to have the assurance that you are renting your property to the correct people.
How to conduct a background verification of tenants?
When you are planning to rent your property, you can take up the following methods to conduct a proper background verification of tenants.
Verifying their identity and permanent address
Identity and permanent address verification are one of the most basic things involved in background checks. You need to be sure that your tenants are not faking their identities. This will help you to save yourself from fraudsters who use fake profiles to get properties on rent.
Apart from verifying a tenant’s identity, you must also verify their permanent address. Of course, conducting physical visits to their permanent address is not always possible but you can still verify it by contacting someone from that area or contacting the police station of that locality. This will also give you an idea about the tenant’s reputation.
Police verification of the tenants
Indian laws & regulations state that a renter must go through a police verification. As a landlord, your work is to file for a police verification requirement for the tenant and submit it to your nearest local police station. The police officers will use the information for background verification of the applicant.
They will also search if there is any criminal record of the tenant. Criminal verification of your tenant is also very important to maintain your safety and security.
Employer and Credit Verification
It is important to conduct a credit verification of your tenant. This will show you their ability to pay their rent on time ensuring your peace of mind. You must also verify their employment status and income by connecting with their employer. This can be done by using the information provided in the original application. You can also check their previous work experience if possible.
Verification with the previous landlord
This is one of the most crucial elements for background verification. Verifying with the previous landlord will help you to gather every information that you must know about the tenant’s behavior. Previous landlords are surely the best source of information when it comes to performing background checks. You can ask various questions to the previous landlord to get an insight into how good will these applicants be as a tenant. By contacting the previous landlord, you will get to know if the tenant would pay rent on time, how they will treat the property and a lot of other important things.
Checking the personal references
Another important element that you must consider while verifying a tenant before renting your property is their personal references. Most of the time these personal references are likely to be biased, but they can surely provide you with some good information about the applicant. Personal references will give you an idea about the tenant’s character, manners, habits, etc. Once you get all the information, it will help you to decide if they will be a good tenant or not.
Conclusion
If you are worried about how to know if you are renting your property to a genuine person or someone who is a fraudster, now you do not need to be. With the right tactics and strategies, you can easily locate quality tenants who will take good care of your property and also pay rent from time to time. Background checking is essential to avoid tenant disputes, save money, and stay away from other tenant problems in the future. The best way to conduct a background verification of a tenant is by hiring a private investigation agency. They will help you to gather all the required information of an applicant willing to live on your property. This will let you come to a conclusion on whether to rent your property to that person or not.
