Implementing Tenant Screening Effectively and Appropriately

Here are the ins and outs of implementing tenant screening, and why it matters so much to landlords — and to tenants alike.

A great many people across the United States rent their homes rather than own them. Many individuals and families simply cannot take on a home loan, or are not at a point where buying makes sense, so renting is the better option. That leaves landlords carrying the burden of vetting the people who want to become tenants of their properties, and it is not a simple process.

Key questions to ask

In a perfect world you would simply welcome someone in as a tenant. In practice, landlords and property management companies need to establish that they are dealing with someone dependable. The questions worth answering are:

• Will they pay the rent on time?
• Will they comply with the rules of the tenancy?
• Is there a history of criminal activity connected to the property?
• Is there a risk of illegal drug use in the property?

What the records can and cannot tell you

It is difficult, if not impossible, to predict what any tenant will do. But an applicant's records give a landlord a reasonable indication of their financial reliability and their track record as a tenant. That is why screening has become steadily more common across the US and elsewhere.

When you rent out a property you have invested in, you want someone who will treat it with respect, pay the rent on time, and get along with neighbors and co-tenants. A difficult tenant is not merely a nuisance: they can cause significant losses to a landlord and, in some cases, costly legal disputes.

Decide what you are screening for, before you screen

Before you start screening applicants, take a step back and define what you actually require. Writing that down first is what makes the process consistent — most landlords are looking for the same fundamentals: steady, verifiable income sufficient for the rent, a rental history that checks out with prior landlords, and a willingness to meet the terms of the lease.

Set those requirements as objective criteria, publish them with the application, and apply them the same way to every applicant. Screening on documented, consistent criteria is both fairer to applicants and far easier to stand behind later than a judgement formed in an interview.