A landlord must carry out a thorough research on the tenant before handing him the keys. You should not be hesitant in asking him relevant questions and ensure whether the information provided is true.
The initial test
First of all you must give the prospective tenant a list of information that you will need regarding the tenant. You should always ask him to provide it himself and also bear all the expenses incurred in getting this data. This is the very first step and will put off all the fraudsters as such people always pick for a softer target.
Tenant's identity
The next step is, making sure who the tenant is? Make sure that the information he is providing about him is correct. You must always ask the potential tenant for a recent photograph of his along with a photocopy of his passport and you must always hold on it it just to be on the safe side. If the tenant is outside of the European Union then you must also ask for his work permit or visa. As these is the basic legal documentation.
Verification from the employer
This is another important step to check for tenant's credibility. Whether he will be able to pay the rent or not? Hence you must ask him to provide a letter from a senior officer at his place of work. This letter must provide the time period for which the tenant has been an employee, the type of employment contract; whether it's permanent or temporary and also his salary.
This letter is not enough. To be very safe you must never rely on the letter alone. You should call the place of work and ask to be put through the relevant person and talk to him to verify the data in the letter.
Reference from the previous landlord
A letter from the last landlord is also important. This should detail the time frame of the tenancy period, amount of rent and if it was always paid on time and comments on tenant's reliability, trustworthiness and honesty. It is possible that he might lie to get rid of an unsuitable tenant. So it is advisable that you ask him reference number of the landlord before him and contact him to confirm.
Bank statement
You should ask the tenant for his last three months of bank statement. In the statement you can double check his employment by seeing that money is coming in from the employer.
