How Much Information About a Tenant should a Landlord Ask For?

I think that no matter how much information you have about a person, the main thing is to have them pay a deposit in advance and keeping that.
Even if the person is reputable and you know all about him, they can still skip out on paying you, you never know
It's important to have some guarantees in that case.

 

I believe that landlords should know almost everything about the tenants as it is very important criteria, It will enhance the safety of the landlord and assure them that they are not having any fraudsters for tenants. All the personal information must also be collected by the landlord to know their tenants completely.

 

I think it just depends. I think a credit report is always a good idea, a deposit is mandatory, and it never hurts to ask for some more information. Recent job history, monthly income, and things like that. A landlord-tenant contract should also state exactly what tenants can and can't do on the property (aside from obviously illegal things). Each situation is different, and I know people that rent out to friends without asking for anything, as long as they're paid on time - they don't care.

Others shouldn't be so easy going, though.

 

I believe the information we ask for is pretty standard. We ask for criminal background checks, run a credit report, verify the place of employment and the length of time they have been employed. We also ask for a family member's contact information that will not be living at the residence. I also look into people on social media to see if they are doing anything that I would generally object to.

 

Umm Okay for those that don't know it you cannot discriminant against someone in the US just because they have a criminal background. There are things called Fair Housing laws and on top of that there are privacy laws. If you have a unit or a house for rent and you refuse to rent it to someone for something you don't like about them (Martial status, sex, religion etc) you can be sued for discriminatory practice.

You can run a credit check but you need to inform the tenant in writing this is what you will do and even then you have limits on what you can ask an employer and what things you can check for. If your tenant is on assistance you cannot refuse them the right to rent from you, in fact if they are on assistance and disabled there may be things you have to do to accommodate them that will come out of your pocket. You cannot just refuse to rent to someone with a disability. Be very careful in the screening process, in some municipalities there are housing officers that will pose as potential tenants, they are checking you out to make sure you are following the law. If you decide you want to get in the rental business you better know the fair housing law inside and out.