Information to Look for when Performing a Tenant Background Check

by Steven Williams Cleaning services specialist

Tenant background checks are an important method to find out more about a prospective renter. However, a lot of lessors associate these checks only with the negative aspects, but this is definitely a wrong attitude. The main point of the procedure is to pick up the proper person for your rental property, not only to find the negative material about him/her. So, my advice is to look for positive information as well because this will help you feel better and take adequate decisions. Different landlords are looking for different info from the past of a person, but I will show you how to divide all the data you have into three main groups:

Positive
Negative
Run Away

Now, let me give you some examples what goes into each category, so you can take you decision easier based on the information you've gathered.

1. Positive

A positive reference from a current or previous lessor is very important as soon as they do not try to deceive you and you have to deal with a fake landlord. Good verification often means that the renter was a proper tenant. He kept the rental unit in good condition, paid the rent on time and so on. A few years ago I had really wonderful tenants, who were strict when paying the rent and took excellent care for my place. At the end when I went for a final check, the rental unit was in flawless condition. I was amazed how they did that and they admitted it was thanks to end of lease cleaning in Melbourne experts.
No claims reporting financial and criminal records
Good credit score. For good credit score is considered anything above 650

2. Negative

Bankruptcies in the past ( 3 years or more)
Records about arrests
Credit Score in the range between 500 and 469
Bad references from ex landlords- for example, if there is info about loud music, late payment of the rent

3. Run Away

There are some facts you definitely don't want to find out while performing the tenant background check. They will make you cross out this prospective renter from the list right away. So, let's check what can be that bad:

Sex offenders
Previous evictions
Credit score under 500
Fake ID and other documents
Current bankruptcy
More than one balance judgements

These are just some examples, you can add more factors, which are more important for you. For instance, I know landlords who don't pay much attention to criminal records as soon as the rent is paid on time and the person was not evicted in the past 5 years. For others the most important factor is whether the person has been in jail. So, decide for yourself which aspects of the tenant's past to include.