Document Checking

We all know just how important screening tests are and how it can be difficult to find the right tenants for your property. Bad tenants are a physical risk to your property and a risk to your finances and are therefore best avoided. No amount of checks can really give you certainty on who is right for your property, but here’s a quick guide to give you some security when screening tenants.

Essential Documents

It’s vital that your tenants prove their identity with a passport, driving license or other form of photo ID. If your tenants are found to be in the UK illegally then you may find the repercussions are quite serious and things like your Landlord Insurance might not be valid. Be careful with ID that isn’t quite standard issue: things like student cards and club memberships are much easier to forge than official documents.

Backup Documents

Of course, anyone can have picked up some photo ID from somewhere and so it’s worth asking your tenants to provide an energy bill or bank statement to prove they really are reliable. It’s very unusual that tenants will attempt to forge documents but the wrong identification will make tenants considerably harder to chase if they end up in arrears.

Contact Details

It might seem obvious, but make absolutely certain you request a contact number and a second address from every tenant in your property over the age of eighteen. Especially if you’re renting an HMO, you need to be sure that you can get in touch with all of your tenants: if one occupant fails to pay rent then don’t expect others to cover for them.

We live in an age where fraud and identity theft are easier and more complex than ever before and usually problems with identity are linked to larger crimes and organisations. Don’t let yourself be caught out and if you think anything is out of order then be sure to contact the local authority and get looking for some different tenants.