What Questions to Ask Your Prospective Tenant’s References?

Getting high-quality tenants into your rental property is crucial in order to maintain your rental income and the growth of your rental business. However, in order to get the ideal tenants, you have to go through a tedious process which is definitely worth it. Thus, calling tenant references during the tenant screening process is a critical step that should not be overlooked. There are some questions to ask tenant references which will help a lot for you to select the right tenant for renting out your rental property. But be aware of things landlords can’t do.

Should Landlords Pre-Screen Potential Renters?

Finding good renters is a very tedious process. You must go through loads of rental application forms before selecting the best possible tenant for your rental property. So, tenant screening is one of the most important processes when finding a suitable tenant. But if not done correctly, the tenant screening process can take a long time. You would not want your rental property to be vacant for such a long time. So, to save time during the tenant screening, landlords must conduct a pre-screening process. 

The pre-screening process is not as detailed as the process during tenant screening. In the pre-screening process, the landlord filters out the tenants that do not meet the requirements/criteria for the next step. By doing this, you can filter out tenants that do not meet your criteria, and only prospective tenants will remain for the screening process. Since the tenant screening process is very detailed, having fewer applications will save a lot of time. 

Pre-screening isn’t the same as tenant screening. During pre-screening, the landlord only checks whether the tenants meet the minimum requirements or not. If they do, they move to the next step; if they don’t, they are filtered out. Whereas during tenant screening, the landlords make sure every requirement is met. The landlord must perform a thorough background check on the tenant to filter out potential tenants.

What Questions Should You Ask While Pre-Screening Potential Renters?

You could ask a few questions during the pre-screening stage that can eliminate tenants that do not meet your criteria. Also, the tenants can move on to the next step upon meeting the requirements. Some of the questions that you can ask your potential tenants during the pre-screening process are as follows:

When are you planning to move in?

This question can filter out tenants late or too early from your requirement. E.g., if your property is only available to rent after two weeks, but the tenant wants to move in within a week, they do not meet your requirement. Or, if a tenant can only move in after a month, they can also be filtered out. Find a tenant whose moving date is in the range of the availability of your apartment. This question can filter out lots of tenants.

How many tenants will be living here?

This is a crucial question that needs to be asked during the tenant pre-screening process. E.g., Consider that your apartment/rental is suitable for a family of 5, but the tenant has a family size of 10, and then you can eliminate such tenants. Also, if the tenant is planning to live alone, it is unlikely they will need such ample space so that you can eliminate such tenants. It would be best if you were looking for a number of tenants that matches your property description. 

Do you have pets?

This question doesn’t apply to all rentals. But some rentals have a strict no-pet policy. Landlords of such rentals can hugely benefit from this question. Any prospective tenants with pets can be filtered out totally. Hence it helps to reduce the number by a lot. So, using this question can save you a lot of time if your property has a no-pet policy.

Recommended Article: What Is A Pet Screening For Rentals?

Why are you moving?

This question can save you a lot of hassle in the next step. Asking this question can filter out a good number of unqualified tenants. E.g. some tenants are moving for reasons like job transfer, joining a new college, or other legitimate reasons. Some tenants could have been evicted from the previous property or may have had disagreements with their landlords. You would want to avoid such tenants.

Read the process of evicting a tenant in Oklahoma.

What is your monthly income?

This is also a significant question to ask a tenant during the pre-screening process. On average, the tenant’s income should be at least three times the rent price to afford to live there. If the tenant’s family income isn’t at least up to the range, you probably should take them off the list because they will have difficulty affording the rent. 

Learn why you need to do income verification and how you can do it.

Who are Acceptable Tenant References for Your Rental Property?

Verifying information from a prospective tenant’s references is a significant step in the tenant screening process. But it is also crucial that the tenant puts in acceptable references in their rental form. So, who is an acceptable tenant reference? The list is concise and to the point. The acceptable tenant references are as follows: 

Ex-Landlords

Former landlords are an excellent choice for tenant reference. No one can better overview the applicant’s characteristics as a “Tenant.” If you can ask them appropriate questions, you can carve out all the information you need for your tenant screening. Make sure to ask a list of questions to landlords who no longer rent out to the tenant. The one currently renting out to the tenant would want to get rid of them if they are a bad tenant. So, it is better to ask landlords who no longer rent to them because there are no strings attached and no need for biasedness. 

Ex-landlord’s references are necessary for rental verification. For landlords who need to provide one, check out our step-by-step guide on how to write a landlord reference letter. Learn more at OKC Home Realty Services.

Employer 

An employer is an excellent and acceptable choice for a tenant reference. You can know about the income of the tenant and also know about his professional attitude. Employers will provide details about the tenant’s attitude toward their co-workers, workplace behaviors, and others. They can also tell you details about their job, whether it is a full-time or a part-time job, this way you can know about their job security. 

Friends and Family

Putting in Friends and family can raise questions about biasedness, but they are the ones who can provide essential details about the tenant. They are the ones who know the tenants the best and can tell you details about the tenant’s overall personality, lifestyle, and other social details. Hence, however biased, Friends and family still contribute as good tenant references. 

How To Conduct Checks on Tenant’s References

Information Verification

Some of the applicants like to give out fake information on the forms. They do so to stand out among other applicants and to look pleasing. Sometimes it could be an honest mistake as well. However, as a landlord, you must verify all the claims. Do your research and verify the information on the form. Verify the names of references provided by them and confirm whether they are the previous landlords or not. Sometimes they put a friend’s name on the references list and ask them to speak good things about them. So, ensure that they are using the correct names and numbers of the references. 

Call the References 

The best way to reach out to the references is to call them. Meeting them in person or e-mailing them isn’t the best approach to reaching out to the references. Not everyone has free time to meet other people, and most of us don’t check our e-mails regularly. So, calling them on their cellphone is the best way to contact them. By calling them, you can also analyze their tone to describe the tenant. Also, you can have a detailed discussion over the phone rather than by e-mail. Hence, it is crucial to question former landlords about a former tenant to assess their reliability and character.

Ask Appropriate Questions

When on a call with the reference, ask appropriate questions. Note down if they tell you something of significance. Prepare a list of things you want to ask them and be polite about it. Ask questions regarding the tenant’s behaviors, habits, and other details that are relevant to the process. Do not ask about things unrelated to the subject. 

Learn valid reasons to deny rental application

What Questions to Ask a Reference for Renter?

Not many landlords know what questions to ask a prospective tenant’s references and do not get all the information they need. Before ringing the references, the landlord must prepare a list of questions to ask tenant references. Some of the questions you can ask are as follows: 

If you are calling Previous landlords

• Do they pay rent on time and in full?

Every landlord expects to be paid the monthly rent on time and in full. Nobody wants a late tenant who keeps dues while paying rent or doesn’t pay rent at all. So, ask this question to previous landlord to know whether they have paid rent on time or not. Finding a tenant that pays total rent in time will reduce your hassles.

• Would you rent out to this tenant again?

This question can clarify the tenant’s overall behavior. The reference’s answer to this question plays a vital role. If they are willing to rent out to the tenant again, it is clear that they are a good tenant, but if the Ex-landlord shows any signs of hesitation, you can get the idea that there were some issues in the past with the tenant. 

• How did they communicate with you?

Having an excellent communicative tenant is a big plus. If the tenant is communicative about minor problems, they can be handled early, which helps avoid significant property damage. Property management companies in Oklahoma City communicate with potential tenants to solve issues with the property.

• How long was the tenancy?

By asking this question, you can know how long they will stay on your property. Their past duration of tenancy shows how long they live in a particular property.

• Why did they leave?

Knowing the reason why they left is very important. If they left for job transfers, college transfers, or other legit reasons, you would have nothing to worry about. But you can sideline their application if they were evicted from the previous property due to disputes.

• Did they maintain the property? Were there any damages?

Knowing that the tenant takes good care of your property is essential. Some tenants tend to damage the property they live in. Even with the security deposits, It is a headache to repair the damages. So, better to avoid such tenants. 

If you are calling an Employer

• Does the tenant work in this company?

You need to confirm that the tenant is telling the truth about working in the company they mentioned. Sometimes the tenant tends to lie about their place of employment. 

• Can you please tell me about the tenant’s income?

Knowing how much money the tenant makes in a month is necessary. This helps to know whether the tenant can afford to live on the property or not. The tenant should make at least three times the monthly rent to afford the rent comfortably. 

• Are they permanent or temporary(contracted) employees?

By asking this question, you can be assured about the job safety of the tenant. If they have a full-time job, it is more secure to rent out to them than someone with a temporary job. 

• What is the tenant’s behavior at work? Do you like to work with them?

 By asking this question, you can learn about the tenant’s behavior, how he treats his co-workers and his professional attitude. Asking how they like working with the tenant can tell you about his friendly behavior and team-working skill. 

If you are calling Friends/Family

Though friends and family are not as good references as ex-landlords and employers, you can still call them to gather some extra information. It is likely for them to be biased about the tenant as they are close to the tenant. The question you can ask them is: 

• What does the tenant do in their leisure time?

Knowing about a person’s hobby helps you to paint a picture of their lifestyle and nature. It helps you know about the person’s likes and dislikes.

• Can you describe the tenant’s overall character?

No one knows a person better than a friend or family member. So, asking them about the tenant’s overall character is the best idea. They can give you details that explain what kind of a person the tenant is. 

• Does the tenant have a habit of smoking/drinking?

Some properties have a no-smoking policy, so you can eliminate the tenant’s application if the tenant has a smoking habit. Also, if co-tenants suffer from respiratory health issues, it is better to avoid tenants who smoke. So, knowing about their smoking habits from friends and families can help you decide on renting out to them.

Questions Not to Ask Prospective Tenants

While having a tenant screening process, along with the important questions to ask tenants for references, it is crucial to be aware of the questions prohibited under fair housing laws. These laws aim to prevent discrimination based on protected characteristics. There are several factors that landlords should avoid questioning to protect against potential discrimination claims. These factors include race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, disability, and other protected characteristics outlined by local laws. Landlords should also hold back from asking about an applicant’s marital status, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Landlords should also avoid asking for any personal information unrelated to their ability to fulfill their rental obligations. Landlords can ensure a fair and unbiased tenant selection process by focusing on objective criteria such as income, rental history, and credit score.

Some of the sample questions violating protected classes examples are:

• Are you a Deaf, blind, or mute, etc? (Discrimination based on disability)
• What is your gender? (Discrimination based on gender)
• Where are you really from? (Discrimination based on national origin)
• What credit score do you have? (nonconsensual credit check)
• Are you Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, etc? (Discrimination based on religion)
• Do you have kids? (Discrimination based on familial status)

Related Article: Illegal rental application questions landlords cannot ask tenants

Conclusion

While screening tenants with rental reference questions can help you find high-quality tenants, it can also be a very tedious and time-consuming task. Not all landlords have the time or resources to devote to this process. That’s where property management companies can be helpful. By hiring a property manager, you can eliminate the hassle and focus on your own business. If you need assistance with property management, contact OKC Home Realty Services.

FAQs on Rental Reference Questions