There are actually few real estate agents who have understood this well: screening tenants properly. You have found a tenant, they seem like decent tenants, they want to move in quickly and also have no problem with the rent and deposit. For many brokers and intermediaries, this is a piece of cake. We’re going to explain to you how we screen our tenants (and advise you to do the same), and why it’s so important.
How to screen tenants in 5 steps:
Step 1: the human screening
It starts with human screening. On the phone, and especially during viewings, we ask specific questions, we want to check if it’s a true story, and if it all matches up with all the documents we receive from the prospective tenant.
Step 2: Paper screening
We collect from each tenant the identification document, 3 recent salary slips, an employer’s statement (not older than 1 month), proof that the salary has actually been deposited into the account of the tenant-to-be, the employment contract and a previous landlord statement (if any).
Alarm bells go off as a standard when it is offered to pay with cash or via a GWK-office or when a company pays in advance for a long period of time.
Step 4: The Government Check
Through an application that works with DigiID, the prospective tenant gives us access to certain relevant documents of his/her that are listed in MijnOverheid, the Tax Office and the UWV. Most relevantly, we can check income data (“can the tenant pay the rent?”) and the authenticity of identification through this route.
Step 5: The rental check
We give the complete rental file to Huurcheck Nederland (Rent Check Netherlands) and they are going to validate the entire file and give us a green light, an orange light or a red light. Tenant candidates with an orange or a red light will be dropped by definition. In addition, we do a BKR check, an EDR check and an ID Check through a Rent Check.
A complete and seamlessly correct file is created of all the above steps.
Why on earth is this screening so necessary?
There are more unsavory tenants in the Netherlands than you might think. There are many criminals active or people who pretend to be something other than they are. If your premises are rented by criminals, then you as the premises owner are responsible for the damage and consequences. Practical examples of what houses are rented for are real: hemp plantations, weapons trafficking, drug trafficking, illegal prostitution and money laundering. Criminals are smart. Most landlords and real estate agents underestimate how smart they are and have an overly vulnerable modus operandi.
Criminals often leave enormous havoc behind and are themselves untraceable. Insurance often does not cover the damage. If there is a hemp plantation present, then you as the property owner may also pay for the eviction costs. But that’s not all: the damage to you as an owner is even greater. The municipality can force you to close your premises for a longer period of time (3-9 months) if it appears that criminals have been hiding here.
However, if you can show that you have really screened your tenants and you can provide a watertight rental file, then there is a good chance that (after detection of criminal activities) your premises do not have to be closed by the municipality. A good broker with a good screening policy always pays off because of this. You can rent yourself, of course, but brokers have access to many more tools to properly screening. A good file is worth a lot.
But even tenants with good intentions can carry significant risks. A person may be lying about having a job or his/her income. As a result, the tenant may end up with rent arrears and these may increase to the point where dissolution of the lease through the courts is ultimately necessary. You will then lose months of rental income and have also incurred legal costs. This could have been avoided by properly testing for income and employment.
So what do you need to do?
Make sure you do business with a broker with a track record. Questions that can help you with this are:
-What kind of homes does the broker have for rent now?
-What kind of homes has the broker rented out recently?
-Does the broker have good and also realistic reviews?
-Does the broker have a good name here in the market?
-Does the broker have a physical existing office that is accessible?
Then find a pleasant broker, ask him about his screening policy. Does it sound good? Make sure the screening policy is included in the engagement letter and also that you, the client, get the complete rental file.
Hope this blog got you well on your way. If you want to rent in Noord-Holland and Zuid-Holland, we can also help you with the rental. Check out our rental agent page for more information or contact us without obligation. We are happy to help you!