Background Check Tenant

[Scott MacDonald]

Hi All,

I purchased a duplex last year and the tenants were in place. I have had zero issues with the tenants (other than they can be slow to report broken things) on both sides. One side comes up for renewal the end of Feb so I called them to let them know I was going to be increasing the rent as its below market value and they agreed to the increase. She did ask that she wanted to add her boyfriend to the lease (who is also her child's father) to which I don't really have a problem with as I suspect he has been living there anyway and never caused any issues and seems a nice guy. I did state that we would need to have him do a background and finance report to make sure everything is in line. 

My question is; should I also have her do the background and finance check? I feel its in bad taste to ask her to spend $40 on a background check when she has been living there for years and been problem free for me but at the same time I would like to know more about her before signing another year long lease. I would never offer discounts or rebates on rent as that is a slippery slope but I thought about offering to cover the $40 cost of her application while he pays his own $40?

Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated. I know its a nominal value but I am unsure what the correct procedure is here?

Thanks

Scott

[Mitch Messer]

Hi @Scott MacDonald. Yes, if I were in your shoes I would cover the cost of the girlfriend's background document, while having the boyfriend pay his own way.

You'll want this info not just to ensure you don't have a problem now, but also to provide you with the deep personal data that might come in handy if you ever have to engage in collections activity against either of them.

As an aside, when you purchase a rental property with tenants already in place, you should always demand all the tenant application and approval documents as part of your overall estoppel process.

Once you buy the property, they become your tenants, warts and all, so you should know what you're getting into well in advance.