A Landlord’s Guide To Rental Verification

No matter the size or location of your rental property business, rental verification is an important part of every property manager or landlord’s job. Landlords often use specific rental verification questions to gather detailed information about an applicant’s rental history. But what exactly is it, and how is rental history verified?

What is Rental History Verification?

Rental history verification is a key part of the tenant screening process in which landlords contact the prospective tenant’s previous landlords. Unlike credit reports and background checks, you’ll likely be contacting previous landlords yourself in order to get the answers you need.

It’s common for rental verification to take place over the phone or via email. This is because you’ll want to fully understand the kind of tenant you may be approving, and although background checks do offer great insight, they don’t offer the qualitative information needed to make fully informed decisions.

Why is Rental Verification Important?

Verifying rental history is more than understanding how to prove a prospective tenant’s rental history. It’s not simply fact-checking potential tenants and proving that they lived where they claim they did; it’s about understanding the applicant’s rental history in detail. A tenant’s honesty on their rental application about where they previously lived is great, but not inherently telling of their history with a past living space.

Rental history verification matters for this exact reason. You first want to verify that the information they provided is true, of course. Then, you want to understand how they behaved as a tenant in the past. Were they a problem tenant in any way? Did they pay on time, accrue any fees, etc.? Were there any noise complaints? By verifying rental history, landlords can identify responsible tenants who are likely to pay rent on time and maintain the property well. Before considering a new tenant, it’s important that you get the full picture—which rental history verification offers.

How is Rental History Verified?

So, how is rental history information proved anyway? As hinted earlier, it tends to be a more hands-on process, but it does depend on how you want to go about it. Many landlords use online tenant screening services to gather comprehensive rental history reports and streamline their verification process. Some tenant screening services offer thorough rental history verification, including eviction records, unpaid rent, and the like. But if your selected services don’t offer that—or if you’d like to double-check, which never hurts—then you’ll have to follow the steps described below.

1. Collect Contacts

If you don’t collect information regarding past living accommodations in your preliminary checks, including the applicant’s previous landlord, then you’ll need to do so. It’s a standard part of tenant screening and rental verification, so this shouldn’t take your applicants by surprise. Collect addresses, emails, phone numbers, and anything else you think may prove useful. Then make sure you receive your applicant’s consent before making contact with current and previous landlords.

If they don’t have any past rental history, then you still have a few options. You can either ask other types of contacts to speak to the tenant’s reliability (past and current employers or similar kinds of references) or look to other aspects of the tenant screening process. Income verification, as well as criminal history and credit history checks, are other great options.

2. Ask the Right Questions

Next, you’ll want to reach out to these contacts via email, phone, in person, or whatever is most convenient for you. Remember, your intention is to understand each applicant’s past rental experiences and behavior so that you can make an informed decision for your properties. Only you know the kind of tenants you’re looking for, so ask questions that pertain to your expectations.

Asking former landlords (either on the phone or through a rental verification form) about the applicant’s track record, including their payment history and any lease violations, can provide valuable insights. Some starter questions for past landlords include:

• Can you confirm that this applicant rented from you through the dates provided?
• What was the reason for the lease termination?
• Did the applicant ever violate the lease agreement, and if so, how?
• Did the applicant make monthly rent payments on time?
• How well did the applicant maintain the property?
• In what condition did the applicant leave the property?
• Did the applicant cause any disruptions?
• Did the applicant give proper notice before vacating the property?
• Would you rent to the applicant again?

If they do not have any rental history, then some starter questions to ask other kinds of references may include:

• Did you employ this applicant, and if so, how would you describe their employment?
• Can you speak on the applicant’s reliability or responsibility?
• Did the applicant ever cause damage to property?

Important note: Under the Fair Housing Act, you cannot consider the applicant’s race or color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, or disability in housing decisions. Be careful to avoid questions regarding protected classes, and make sure you fully understand what information you can and cannot use when accepting applicants. Your state and local laws may provide more protections to tenants as well, so it’s important that you research what other laws may be applicable to you.

4. Make an Informed Decision

Now that you’ve finished the rental verification process, it’s time to make an informed decision. Reviewing a rental history report can provide a detailed overview of the applicant’s residential history, including any evictions or negative references, so it’s important to compare other results from the tenant screening process to put together a full picture of the applicant. Do you think they’ll be a good fit for your property? Do they seem to meet all of your requirements?

Only you know what’s best for your rental property business, so don’t be afraid to make the decision that you ultimately land on.

Conclusion

Now that you understand how to prove rental history and what rental verification entails, you’re ready to find the best tenants to fill your units. So long as you go in with an idea of what you’re looking for in a tenant, verifying rental history should be a breeze.