Forged employment histories, fake credit scores, unreliable references – there are plenty of ways professional tenants can take advantage of unsuspecting landlords to get their foot in the door.
Once they’re in your property, these fraudsters can run amok, skipping rental payments, causing damage, or even subletting without permission.
Sadly this type of fraud is becoming more common as the competitive Toronto housing market heats up further. And with the embattled Landlord and Tenant Board of Ontario still experiencing lengthy delays, it’s even harder for landlords to get restitution if they do fall prey to scams.
As the old saying goes, prevention is better than a cure. Stop trouble before it starts by thoroughly vetting your prospective tenants, paying careful attention to their supporting documents and references.
Making sure your tenant is trustworthy
Finding trustworthy tenants involves doing some detective work. Some forgeries and fakes are hard to spot but, with a little digging, landlords can expose these fraudsters by taking the following steps:
- Run your own credit check
Don’t take their word for it. If a tenant offers you a credit check that looks too good to be true, or sets alarm bells ringing, run your own – provided the tenant has given you permission to do so. If they don’t give you permission, don’t rent to them – full stop. The cost of a credit check is far less than the cost of allowing a fraudster into your property.
- Verify employment and income
If they haven’t provided it already, ask your prospective tenant to provide details of their current job and employment history. You should also contact their current and previous employers to double check the details.
Your tenant doesn’t need to be a high-performing professional but you do need to ensure that they are earning an income that will cover their rent.
- Check their rental history
Ontario landlords can ask for a rental history, but if a tenant can’t provide one, they’re not allowed to discriminate against them on this basis.
If they have previous rental experience, that history is another valuable piece of evidence that can help you decide if you want to take a chance on your new renter, giving you information about where they’ve lived and contact details of previous landlords. Unscrupulous renters will give you fake names of friends or claim they have no rental history.
Make small talk with any landlord reference you’ve been given to call – as a fellow landlord, you can likely figure out if they are legitimately a landlord or not. Due to the potential for abuse of this category of screening, don’t weigh it as heavily as employment verification, income verification, and your own credit check of the tenant.
Protecting your investment
Renting doesn’t have to be a gamble. Landlords who don’t have the time or resources to thoroughly vet every single prospective tenant, can hand over this onerous task to a property management company.
With over three decades in the business, Highgate Property Management is highly experienced at finding, screening, and negotiating with tenants. Our team can help you find a reliable renter with whom you can build a respectful and harmonious long-term relationship.
Our pre-screening process includes running independent credit reports, verifying employment history, and screening social media to weed out any unscrupulous applicants.
We check and double-check, verify and validate, to make sure you and your property are safe from fraudsters. And we’ll act as your representative going forward, working with your tenant to ensure timely rent collection and make sure any issues are resolved as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Highgate can help you make the most of your investment, with hassle-free property management that takes the stress out of renting. Contact us today to learn more.
