Questions To Ask A Prospective Tenants Rental References

Tenant screening is essential because it gives landlords the ability to dig deep into a prospective tenant’s rental history and verify that they will be the most qualified tenant to live in their rental property.

During the process of tenant screening, it’s also important to ask prospective tenants’ rental references the right questions because those questions will provide the landlord with the information about the tenant that they need.

If you’re new to owning rental properties, or you’ve owned them for years, these questions will help you improve your tenant screening process by asking your tenant’s rental references better questions.

Did They Pay Their Rent On Time?

The first question that every landlord should want to be answered before approving a new tenant is if they paid their rent on time to their previous landlord.

This question is huge because if the tenant didn’t pay on time, the question that should be asked is why was it not paid on time, and does the tenant have a legitimate reason for paying late?

Were Rent Payments Paid In Full?

Another important question to ask prospective tenants’ rental references is if the tenant paid their rent in full each time.

Sadly, more tenants have been unable to pay their rents in full in recent years due to COVID-19 lockdowns so it’s important to ask this question because it will offer insight into what you can expect from the tenant should you approve them for your rental property.

What Was The Monthly Rental Rate?

Was the tenant’s previous rent lower or higher than the monthly rate that you’re asking them to pay?

The answer to this question will offer you more insight into their current financial situation and also if they will be able to pay the current rate that you’re asking.

Besides these questions, you should also ask about the tenant’s communication, how they maintained the property and if the previous landlord would rent to that tenant again.

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