The last thing a landlord wants is for a bad tenant to occupy their rental property, as selecting the wrong person could lead to a costly eviction, damaged property, or nonpayment of rent. To thoroughly screen rental applicants, landlords must consider several key pieces of information:. A rental history report is a list of previous addresses that a tenant has rented from, along with contact information of the landlord or property manager at the time. It is likely that the credit report will list out previous addresses for the applicant, but it is a good idea to ask the applicant for a complete list of addresses and contact information for previous landlords.
In some cases, you may receive a tenant application that lists no rental history at all. For example, college students, Millennials, or Gen Z renters may be new to the rental market, therefore they may not have had the opportunity to obtain a substantial rental history. If you find yourself in this situation, there are several key pieces of information you can consider instead, including pay stubs, tax return stubs, or co-signed leases.
That could help mitigate risk. Remember, your expectations should be realistic and abide by any federal or state-specific laws.
Make sure your rental application has a tenant information release form attached. With this legal document, a tenant authorizes their prospective landlord to review past rental history information. This information may include:. It might be worthwhile to include this requirement within the initial rental listing. That way, you can start to weed out any applicants who may not want to release their past rental history information.
In the end, those who can and do provide this information upfront may be more desirable for your rental property.
Do you notice any gaps in their rental history report? If there are significant breaks in tenancy, ask your applicant about it, as there may be an acceptable reason for these gaps in tenancy. For example, maybe the applicant decided to move back in with their parents for the sake of saving money. Keep an eye out for missing information. Taking time to ensure your renter is reliable and responsible may save you the hassle of eviction and costly repairs down the road.
A landlord reference check can help you answer important questions like:. He now publishes feature articles in many publications including Annuity Selling Guide, Bankrate.
Stay in the know with the latest news on owning a property, laws, and info from the leaders in property management. Home Resources Ask a Pro. About Property Managers Q: How do property managers choose between applicants? Want to Find a Local Property Manager? Texas law, does, however, require the landlord or manager to present you with the tenant selection criteria at the time you fill out the application, according to the Texas Apartment Association.
Do you have any recourse? Thanks for writing, and for keeping Austin weird! Latest Answered Questions.
All Property Management. My property manager sold my tenant a new home. They wanted to break the lease three months early.
The property manager re-rented the house for Tagged with About Property Managers , broker , client , commission , conflict of interest , fiduciary duty , home , landlord , property manager ,. About Property Managers Q: Are property managers liable when they fail to fulfill client requests?
We had our property manager listed as the real estate agent when we decided to sell. It turns out the property was in terrible shape Tagged with About Property Managers , broker , commission , Contract , fiduciary duty , liable , principal , property manager , Realtor ,. The application process is similar in all cases; however, property management companies may delve deeper into your credit and job history to establish your worthiness as a tenant. Some may even do a criminal background check.
Be prepared for a financial and personal evaluation if you want to rent through a property management company. Most property management companies charge an application fee, per tenant, to subsidize the time and expense of researching prospective tenants.
This is non-refundable, even if you are not approved for tenancy. They do not hold the originals, but make copies for their files. Also be prepared to provide bank statements and income tax returns. Some companies require a list of your monthly expenses and consider 75 percent expenses-to-income, before taxes, to be the threshold of acceptance.
Rather, you may be asked to increase your security deposit as assurance against a rental default.
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