CIA Let Property Insurance
Tips For Landlords

10 Tips For Finding Reliable Tenants

1. CIA Insurance advises you use a professional well-reputed letting agency to supply and vet your tenants – it will cost around 10 per cent per month for the service but the peace of mind and speed of finding good tenants is worth it for most. This is by far the best single piece of advice you can take.
    
2. If you don’t use a professional letting agency then the duty of care to vet the potential tenants and maintain the relationship, arrange contracts, secure deposits and make any repairs falls directly to you. As a minimum you should always request details of last three years residences, date of birth, National Insurance number, a minimum of two referees and next of kin details.
    
3. State that a copy of a driving licence, passport or other proof of identity is a requirement. Two forms of identity are better than one and should be checked to make sure they match.
    
4. Always use a tenant credit referencing service for background checks, this small investment up front could save you fortunes later on. If the reference comes back with any doubt, disregard the tenant immediately.
    
5. Ask to see the last six months bank statements – and be sure to check the name and address at the top of the statements matches other forms of identification.
    
6. Make regular home visits – you are obliged to give the tenants notice of when you will be visiting.
    
7. Advise your tenants to take out insurance to cover the home contents. You as the landlord should speak with CIA about landlords buildings insurance and landlords contents insurance.
    
8. Serve a Section 21 notice at the start of the tenancy. That is the day they move in. They will usually sign a copy of the notice at that time, providing the evidence you need to prove the notice has been served. This should be done AFTER the deposit has been lodged in a scheme.
    
9. Take a six weeks deposit to cover your property and encourage the tenant not to simply default on the last month’s rent.
    
10. Make sure you have landlords liability insurance in place that covers "Injury to people residing in or visiting the premises".