Choosing the right tenants for your rental property is so important, as they can really have an impact on your landlord experience. Luckily, we’re on hand to help! In this blog, we’re letting you know how to find reliable tenants for your rental properties.
It’s not always easy to find suitable tenants, but there are some steps you can take to reduce risks and increase reliability.
The changes proposed within the Renters’ Rights Bill only highlight the importance of finding reliable tenants, as landlords may not find it quite as easy to evict them. Check out our blog on the Renters’ Rights Bill.
What makes a good tenant?
Before we get started on how to find a reliable tenant, it’s good to have an understanding of what would be expected of a ‘good’ tenant.
- Accepts their financial responsibility of meeting the rental payments – makes rent payments in full and on time
- Takes care of the property – keeps it clean, well-maintained and reports any maintenance issues promptly
- Respects the property and its neighbours
- Provides effective communication and is honest about any property damage
- Willing to be flexible to handle any maintenance issues in the property quickly
Most landlords favour long-term tenants as this helps to reduce the risk of the property being empty for prolonged periods.
How do I find high-quality tenants?
Here are the most important aspects that you need to consider when finding good tenants.
Complete affordability checks
These checks are essential as they ensure that the prospective renters can afford to pay the monthly rent based on their current circumstances.
Prospective tenants will need to prove either their income (an employed tenant’s income must be at least 2.5x the monthly rent), retirement income (3x the monthly rent) or savings (6x the monthly rent) in order to pass the checks.
Read our blog on what to do if a tenant falls into rent arrears.
Check for evidence of paying rent or rental history
This one can be tricky as some people will be renting for the first time, but it’s good to have evidence that your new tenants can keep up with the payments.
You can gain evidence in various ways, including asking the tenant to authorise information from their bank, asking for bank statements or seeking references.
Landlord references are crucial if you can access them as you can find out more about the tenant and how they treated the property.
Assess employment stability when you find tenants
Landlords tend to favour potential tenants who are in permanent contracts at stable jobs. However, if this is not the case, other metrics can be considered, such as the tenant’s credit score and management of finances.
Complete credit history checks
Credit checks are essential as they can provide information that you may not otherwise be able to access. These include fraud checks, searching for outstanding debts and showing you the tenant’s previous addresses. You may gain insight into any late payments. This process ensures that potential renters can comfortably afford to live in the property.
Do I need to complete the tenant screening process?
Before you agree to a tenancy agreement with a prospective tenant, it’s vital that you complete a high-quality, thorough tenant screening process. The screening process helps to provide peace of mind that the tenant can afford to live in the rental property and minimises the risk of financial losses.
By choosing a dedicated property management company, like Intus Lettings, you won’t need to worry about tenant screening, because we’ll take care of the process for you. We ensure that all of our landlords have a hassle-free experience and we’re always on hand to answer any queries you may have.
In addition to screening potential tenants and tenant referencing, we can also take care of assessing the rental market, creating a rental listing, rent collection, sorting maintenance requests and much more. We can market your property effectively using online property portals with high quality photos that create a positive first impression. We are passionate about helping you keep your tenants happy and ensuring that your property meets all legal frameworks. Find out more about our services for landlords.
We hope this blog has been helpful on how to find great tenants. Are you looking for a high-quality letting agency to support you on your landlord journey? Contact us today to see how we can help.
