Why Report?

Tenant Screening/Credit Reports

There are a number of reasons why you would report a tenant’s history to credit bureaus.

Self Preservation
Some would feel that revenge may be the reason for a few landlords to report bad experiences with a previous tenant, but in reality the true reason is self preservation; by protecting other landlords you hope their report will protect you also.

Improve performance of your tenants
Advising a tenant at the time of application that you make reports to national credit bureaus may provide additional incentive for your tenant to pay the right amount of rent and at the right time and to pay any outstanding debts due to you after he/she leaves the tenancy. The fact that they know that you report bad tenancy record (which must be stated on the AST or any supporting letter ) can usually have the desired effect for the landlord.

Money Owed

The fact that money was owed to you following a tenant’s residence in your property can even result in payment when the tenant later wishes to buy a home or obtain other credit. This factor is a major reason to always obtain a Court judgment for any amounts owed, even when you feel that there is little chance of collecting at the time of the tenant’s departure, as a judgment on a person’s credit record is usually even more powerful than only an unpaid bill.

Next Stage

If you are satisfied with the references as to your prospective tenants character and affordability the next stage is:

1. Establish an Assured Short hold Tenancy Agreement (AST) (an example is shown on the facility page). This can be 6 months or 12 months.
2. A notice to take possession at the end of the tenancy should be issued and accompany the AST
3. Establish an inventory of everything you are leaving in the property. This is particularly important where letting furnished property.
4. Create a welcome letter, here you can, for example, point out that the place is professionally cleaned, that maintaining the garden is their responsibility, that the property is repainted and new floor covering fitted (if this is the case), you can state that smoke alarms/fire blanket are fitted and that you will visit the property about every 3 months to service the smoke alarm/check the standard of the property. It is very important that you give your full Bank details where the rent is to be paid from establishing (a) direct debit or standard order system..
5. Carbon monoxide detector should be installed where there is gas.
6. A landlord gas certificate by a qualified heating/gas engineer must accompany the welcome letter/ agreement.
7. Take the reading of gas and electricity then send a letter to the utility company and a copy for your tenant and your file.
8. Inform the council tax department and water company with details of the tenants and start date of the tenancy.
9. Advise the tenants where meters and water turn off taps are, where dustbin is located and the day the bins should be taken out for rubbish collection.
10. Make sure that copies of every letter is kept on file and where possible take pictures showing the condition of the property just before tenancy starts.

Add your good or bad tenants to our database.