Landlords advised to take care over who they bring in as tenants

Landlords operating in UK property should make sure that they are taking time to check the legitimacy and reliability of any tenant they are bringing into their rental homes, it has been recommended.

At the moment, most people who are letting out properties to rent are in a very favourable position, under which they find that there is a very high demand for privately rented homes. Not only is this good for the return on their investment by pushing up what they can charge for rent, but it also means they can be more scrutinising when choosing between tenancy applicants.

David Lawrenson, private rented sector expert at LettingFocus.com, said that it is vital to make sure that landlords are undertaking all the checks that they can to avoid losing out financially further down the line.

First of all, Mr Lawrenson said, it is vital to take out reference checks to make sure from a previous landlord that the potential tenant will be reliable when it comes to paying their rent, and will not damage the home.

On top of this, it will also be beneficial for them to check that they have a job and to go through the process of ensuring their credit rating is high. These will both ensure that they can afford to pay the monthly costs for the home.

"Make sure that you know the tenant, you know that they can afford the rent and that you have checked into their background as far as possible, so that you know you have someone in front of you who is going to do all that they can to pay the rent, as opposed to somebody who perhaps has no intention of paying it," he advised.

However, while landlords can do all that they can to make sure in the first place that tenants can afford to pay their monthly costs, there will be occasions in this economic climate where people lose their jobs, and with it their ability to pay.

Mr Lawrenson said that in these cases, the first thing landlords should be doing is to talk to their tenants and try to come to an agreement before the situation gets out of hand for either party.