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Monday, 8 July 2013

Finding Responsible Tenants

By Karen Solemen


Everyone is looking for the highest quality tenants; people who are considerate of your property, are respectful, and of course, pay the rent when it's due. When the tenants turn out to be problematic, the landlord can have a really tough time having them removed, it can be a costly procedure, and then there are the expensive damages they cause to the rental property. What is the best way to be sure your tenants are the kind you want?

Have an application form

A good place to begin is with a simple telephone screening process. Inquire about the number of people who would reside in the unit. Landlords can ask about employments status, if there will be pets, and other things, but a lot of the time the prospective tenant will voluntarily mention these things in the conversation. After someone passes the screening on the phone, then a landlord can set a time for a viewing of the rental unit. For rentals that have generated a lot of prospects, a landlord may choose a specific time in the evening for people to come and view the unit.

A full length application form should be filled out for people who are interested in your rental unit. When screening prospective tenants, the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation advises that you can ask questions that will help you assess the suitability of a tenant, but you cannot infringe on the rights of the tenant under the Human Rights code for your province. Some of the questions that can be asked are related to a tenant's income amount, employment status, if they smoke, people residing on the property and their names, and if they have pets.

Things that are not allowed to be asked are religion or ethnic background, sexual preference, for their social insurance number, marital status, or if they plan on having more children, and if family will be visiting.

Don't rush through the application process even if you want to rent your unit quickly, background checks must be followed up on. Any time spent now, will save you time and money in the long run. Make sure that there is a release on your rental form that allows you to check up on the prospective tenant by contacting former landlords, credit bureaus, and current employers. The information on the form is important, but it is not always truthful, so keep that in mind. Be sure to actually talk to former landlords and employers.

In Canada, with the consent of the prospective tenant, you can obtain a credit check from Equifax Canada or Trans Union Canada. Another way to check up on the tenant is to get in touch with the Rent Check Credit Bureau, which is only concerned with housing.

Confirm the information on the application by contacting their employer. When were they hired? What is their position in the company? How many hours do they work? What is their salary amount?

Be sure to check rental history and other references. Obtain information to contact their previous landlord, and when possible, the last 2 or 3 landlords of your prospective tenant. When did they live in your rental property? How long did they stay in the rental? Were they late paying the rent? Did they own any pets? Were there any damages that were over and above the expected amount of wear and tear on the property? Was the notice provided proper when they moved out of the unit? Would you rent another unit to this person?




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