List Of Tenant Credit Check Services For Landlords
Written by The Landlord on 24 Mar 2010
Do you bother credit checking prospective tenants? I never used to because I could never be bothered, but as I gained more experience, I realised there are a lot of undercover shitheads out there that are itching to make a sucker out of everyone. Granted, credit checks aren’t bulletproof, they won’t guarantee “perfect tenants”, but they will reduce a potentially large risk.
Credit checks are relatively cheap, and in my opinion, worth the investment. Most reputable letting agents will use third party companies to perform comprehensive credit checks on their tenants. The less respectful agents will cut corners and get intermediate checks. The real snake oil agents will avoid credit checks all together.
Permission Required
In order to perform a credit check, you will need permission from the perspective tenant. The applicant will need to sign a release authorizing the landlord/agent to perform a credit check. Most credit check companies will provide landlords with a form online which can be downloaded for free, but I use a homemade generic one, which captures only the information I need. You can download that here, Tenant Reference Form
If you use letting agents to find tenants, it’s probably worth investigating:
- 1) which company they used to do credit checks
- 2) what type of checks they perform. Most credit check services will provide different levels of service, from basic to comprehensive
However, if you’re not using a letting agent, and managing your property yourself, you can easily credit check your tenant directly through a specialised service.
I’ve looked through a few services online, and here are the one’s that look quite alriiight…
| Company | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Discount Letting | FREE | Discount letting are offering a FREE Tenant Credit Check Worth £15 for ALL landlords. I’ve actually spoken to the director of the company on the phone and it’s all legit. All you need to do is provide your name and email address, and the service is yours. The package is actually pretty good, find out details of what the free service offers here |
| Tenant Verify | From £15.88 | Basic check for £15.88 with Tenant Verify reveals an individual’s credit score, outstanding debts, whether there have been any county court judgments filed against them, and their main residence for the last six years. More comprehensive check with Tenant Verify for £30.88 gives you the landlord’s contract of employment, earnings and character references. |
| Credit Check Services | From £8.95 | They offer a bronze, silver, gold and platinum service, ranging from £8.95 – £29.95. |
| Endsleigh | From £6.95 | Quick online tenant referencing. Instant references from only £6.95 and comprehensive references from only £15.95 |
For more tips, go here, How To Avoid Bad Tenants
Do you bother getting a credit check on your tenants? If so, which service do you use? Does anyone know of any other reliable credit check services?
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I initially started this website because I wanted to document my every step from property idiot to property landlord,
in hope that people would find my site and help me along the way. I literally didn't have a clue about being a landlord
when I started this website.
We recently had a landlord come to us who had taken in a tenant - but who he had to ask to leave after a month...why?
She claimed to be a medical professional was suited and booted and talked the talk. BUT...turned out she was a heroin addict and a patient at the hospital she claimed to be a professional at!
Do your research and check everything!
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