Landlords check tenants' backgrounds

Landlords are taking unnecessary risks in the current economic environment by failing to adequately check the background of prospective tenants, according to buy-to-let specialist Paragon Mortgages.

With unemployment and the general cost of living rising, and household budgets coming under increasing pressure, landlords have to minimise the risk of exposure to tenants who could run into arrears.

A tenant assessment allows the landlord to verify the tenant’s identity, employment status, creditworthiness and financial history. Conducting a tenant assessment reduces the risk of the tenant defaulting on payments or absconding from the property without paying rent.

According to Paragon research, nearly a third of landlords never carry out a tenant assessment on a prospective tenant, with a further 22% stating that they only check new tenants occasionally. This is despite the fact that more than a quarter of landlords have experienced a tenant leaving a property without paying the rent, while 14% have been forced to evict tenants for failing to pay the rent.

The amount of Tenants leaving a property without paying rent is a more common occurrence than people think and a large number of landlords will experience this problem at some point.