Taking time to properly screen a tenant is the most important thing a landlord can do to avoid ending up with a professional tenant. A professional tenant will initially appear to be a great tenant. The majority of the time they will provide you with the information that you need but it is important to scrupulously go through the information the prospective renter provides.
Some professional tenants go as far doctoring fake documents including employment letters, credit reports, etc.
It’s important to know what to look for and make sure that the information that you are getting is accurate. The Landlord and Tenant Board places that responsibility on you the Landlord. Ultimately you have the right to say no if you don’t feel comfortable it is important to exercise that right because once a professional tenant has moved into your property, it will be a time consuming and expensive process getting them out.
Here’s a couple of red flags to look for:
– The tenant is resistant to provide supporting documentation during the application process
– The Tenant asks if your basement apartment is legal apartment
– The Tenant asks you for keys to the place before their start term or prior to providing the first and last month’s rent.
– The Tenant defaults in the second month.
– The Tenant constantly has different excuses about health, family, job etc. to justify late payments of rent,
– The tenant will not provide access to your property – despite being served notice.
– You have almost an impossible time reaching the tenant.
– The Tenant provides a cell phone number for his or her employer.
– There are inconsistencies in the credit report.
– The Tenants employment letter in missing a signature or date or company address.
There are so many things to look out for when renting your property to someone. Think of it as entering a long term relationship. Would you just start dating anyone because they are interested? The only difference is that with a tenant you do not have the time to get to know them and that’s why checking their information at length and asking them any questions that you need resolved prior to entering into an agreement with them.
It is important to note though that there are some questions that you cannot ask them tenant based on the Canadian Human Rights Act.
To learn more about how we screen our tenants, you can click here to see our tenant screening process.
Do you have a professional tenant currently living in your property? Do you need assistance evicting your tenant. We can help you today.