Should I Check Up On My Potential Landlord?

A competent landlord will undoubtedly perform his due diligence and run background checks on you before offering you the lease.

All the procedures and systems in place provide him with every mean to do so. Everything is designed so landlords can easily find out – with help from a lawyer- important things about their prospective tenant such as credit history, criminal records and civil suits.

There is little reason not do a little background check on the landlord yourself.

We understand most people would be uncomfortable doing this and with good reason. After all, the landlord is seen as the one with the power and he’s not really obligated to tell you anything.

But landlord scams do occur and you absolutely do not want to be a victim of this or live under a landlord prone to interfering with every little thing you do.

So here are just four things you can do to check up on your landlord;

1. Talk:
It’s unnecessary to sneak about and check up on the landlord behind his back. The best thing to do always is ask questions up front. You should not be confrontational though – instead, strike up a friendly conversation and be polite.

A good landlord will want a responsible tenant and asking relevant questions about the property and the landlord shows that you’re responsible and interested in protecting the property and yourself from any problems.

2. Property records:
It used to be easy when whom the property owner is rather cut and dry. These days, with globalisation opening many doors for many people, it has become harder to determine if the property in question is legit.

Get a lawyer to run a property check to ensure that the owner of the property is indeed the person you’re dealing with. Public records can also show if the owner is punctual with his payments or have a history of negligence.

3. Past tenants:
Bring this up during your conversation with the landlord. Ask about past tenants and how many have lived in the place and for how long.

If tenants come and go or regularly break their contracts, it behoves you to find out why. If every tenant stayed until their contract ended but chose not to renew, find out why. If there were only one tenant before you, ask why he chose not to renew. If you’re the first tenant, then read tips no. 2 and 4.

4. Neighbours:
Most landlords would take offence if you requested to speak with the neighbours. It’s a people thing; we find it hard to separate our professional and personal lives.

How you go ahead with this is a delicate matter. You do not want to offend the landlord and ruin your chances of getting the property and at the same time, you don’t want to go behind his back and probe.

The best option here is to be upfront and honest. Tell him that you will speak with the neighbours about certain things – remember to mention what those things are – and you won’t take much time.

The important thing to do here is avoid making the landlord feel like you’re digging up dirt on him.

It’s all about phrasing your questions correctly because you can be sure that the landlord will ask the neighbours what you asked them.

They’re not obligated to tell him but if they’re friends, your careless probing could cost you a nice place to rent.