How to Select the Right Tenant for Your Rental Property

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So you’ve advertised your property on the market and the applications are rolling in - Great! You’ll now need to start thinking about evaluating those applications and begin the process of choosing a tenant.Whether you're a first-time property owner or have been in the business a while, choosing the right tenant is one of the most important decisions you can make for your investment.

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The ideal person for your property should be someone who is responsible, clean, respectful, is a good communicator and pays their rent on time. You may also want someone who is able to commit to a longer-term tenancy to reduce your costs as well as the wear and tear on your home.So how do you ensure you’re ticking all the boxes when looking for your dream tenant?

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Read on to discover how to find the right tenant for your home and avoid those costly mistakes.

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Create a Listing to Attract

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The first tick box is to ensure your property is up to scratch and you’ve created a listing to match. A property that is well-maintained and nicely presented is more likely to attract people who embody those same qualities.

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Your listing should be clear, detailed and have photos with good lighting. You should also ensure you advertise on the portals with the right audience. Advertising your home on Facebook Marketplace or Gumtree might not attract the type of person you are looking for.

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Referencing, Referencing, Referencing

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The number one rule that you should always follow is to reference your tenants. All landlords want good tenants in their property, which is why you should always carry out reference checks.

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‍The main questions you’ll want to be answered are:

• Do they have a stable rental history?
• Have they previously paid their rent on time?
• Have they ever been blacklisted before?
• What are their references from previous landlords?
• Do they have any debts?
• Are they employed full-time and what is their employment history?
• Can you verify their employment?
• Does their affordability line up?
• Do they have any personal references?

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As a landlord, you'll want to ensure that tenants moving into your home are professionally referenced. If you’re doing it yourself, you can employ the use of a tenant referencing company but here at RentBetter, we can help make this easy for you.

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If you’re using our Self-Management Platform, you’ll have access to an easy way to reference your prospective tenants - you can run a check which connects with the national database and you’ll be closer to finding that perfect person for your home with just the click of a few buttons.

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Meet Your Applicants in Person

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One of the best ways to vett a potential tenant is to meet them in person (or failing that, on a video call). Are they well-groomed, do they smoke or do they come with any pets? These might be some of the questions you’ll want the answers to.

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The type of person you rent your home to needs to match how you want it to be treated and these things count. Like a job interview, they might look good on paper but you’ll only get a true sense of what someone is like as a person when you meet them face to face - that gut feeling you have is usually the right one!

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It’s also a great first step in establishing a relationship with your tenant. Whilst you don’t have to be best buddies, it's always a smart move to establish a good relationship with the people potentially living in your home.

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Watch our video on 'How to Select a Tenant':

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Self-Managing Made Easy!

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Self-managing your property doesn’t have to be hard and if you take the right steps you can be sure that you’re making well-informed decisions when it comes to managing your investment.

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From advertising your property, securing a tenant, collecting payments and tracking income and expenses, if you’re using RentBetter, we provide you with all the tools you need to become a self-managing property expert (and save you some money while you’re at it!).

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‍Get in touch with our team or sign up to our platform and we can guide you through the process of renting your home, the better way.