Check prospective tenants with Foxtons
Our tenant background and credit checks for landlords give you peace of mind when renting out your property. As part of our lettings and property management services:
Why choose Foxtons for tenant checks?
What are tenant checks?
Tenant checks, or background checks for renters, are checks that are carried out to make sure that someone is a suitable tenant for your property. Some checks focus on legal aspects such as whether the person can legally live in the country while others assess their income to ensure they can afford to pay the rent. References can also provide additional assurance on the reliability of a prospective tenant.
What are the benefits of tenant background checks?
When letting out your property, you'll want to know that your tenant will treat it with respect and pay their rent on time. Although you can't always guarantee a completely trouble-free tenancy, it's a good idea to carry out some basic checks to increase the chances of a suitable tenant.
These checks can provide information about their ability to pay the rent, whether they are who they say they are and whether they're likely to cause any issues when renting your property. They can help protect you from any problems in the long term.
What tenant checks do Foxtons provide?
All our packages (long let, managed long let and short let) include a range of background checks on prospective renters.
Tenant identity verification
This involves asking the potential tenant for proof of identity which is usually in the form of a passport, driving licence or other official means. Details such as the name, address and date of birth should match any rental application documents.
Right to Rent checks
It's a legal requirement to check a tenant's right to rent in England. Their immigration status is usually confirmed by a passport or residence document. For those who are not British or Irish citizens, they must prove their right to live in the UK.
Tenant bank reference checks
We conduct bank reference and income checks which can help indicate whether a tenant can afford to pay the rent on a property. These types of tenant checks might also include obtaining a letter from an employer or seeking proof of income via payslips. Background credit checks on renters can be carried out but these are normally done to verify a person's identity, rather than to obtain information about previous rental payments.
References
We can obtain references from previous landlords and employers to assess the suitability of a tenant.
Other services we provide include:
Ensuring direct debits are set up before move-in Checking when tenants have paid their deposit In-person pre-tenancy property checks