5 Questions to Ask a Tenant's Prior Landlords

Contacting a tenant’s prior landlords is the best way to find out if a tenant is a responsible renter. Landlords will tell you relevant information that can help you decide if you want to accept or deny a tenant.

Here are 5 questions you need to ask prior landlords:

• Can you confirm the tenant rented from you?
• Did he or she pay rent on time?
• Did he or she reasonably take care of the rental property?
• Was the unit clean and in good order when the tenant left?
• Was he or she disruptive to other tenants or neighbors?

The main information you want to find out is if a tenant will pay rent on time, take care of the rental property, and remain respectful of other tenants and the community.

What should you do if your tenant doesn’t list a prior landlord?

If a tenant doesn’t leave a prior landlord on the rental application, it’s possible he or she previously lived in a dorm or at a parent’s house. It’s also possible that he or she is switching from owning to renting. While it’s good to be cautious if tenants leave their residence history blank, we recommend asking tenants for more information. If the tenant is being suspicious, then this could be a red flag.

Should you reach out to your tenant’s current and prior landlords?

Yes, we recommend reaching out to both. Current landlords may have motivation to lie if they want to get rid of a problem tenant. They might be trying to guarantee the tenant has somewhere to move to. Prior landlords, on the other hand, have no reason to lie.

How can you spot a fake tenant reference?

We recommend asking the landlord to confirm the rent price or the dates the tenant lived in the residence. You can also ask prior landlords what other properties they have for rent right now. If the person is not truly a landlord, he or she won’t reply appropriately. You can also Google search the landlord or his or her property to find out if the reference is real.

Learn more about how to properly check tenant references.

What kind of past behavior is good or bad?

Your tenant has a positive rental history if he or she:

• Paid rent on time
• Did not significantly damage the property
• Did not disrupt neighbors

Your tenant has a negative rental history if he or she:

• Did not pay rent on time
• Damaged the property
• Disrupted neighbors with loud music, parties, etc.

Next Steps

Check out our Complete Guide to Tenant Screening to learn everything you need to know about screening your tenants, including how to review a tenant’s rental application, analyze a credit and background check, and more.