Q. I HAVE always advertised my property through an agent in the past but my current tenants who are leaving have put me in touch with someone they know who would like to take on the property after they leave, but I am not sure what I should discuss with them before agreeing that they take it.

Mrs C, Uplands

A. Ok, here are my top ten questions for prospective tenants:

1 When do they intend to move?

If your existing tenants are moving out on say the 15th of the following month, you need to make sure that the tenant can start their tenancy within a few days, or a week, from that date so that you do not end up with a long and costly void period in between tenants.

2 Are they claiming any benefit?

Whilst tenants who are in receipt of benefits can make very good tenants, it is important to know if they are claiming as your insurance will need to be notified and understanding the financial situation of applicants is very important in assessing whether the property is suitable for them, and visa versa.

3 Do they have sufficient affordability?

This is obviously key as you do not want to put tenants into your property if they will not be able to afford the rent.

If there is any lack of financial security or any doubt on this count I would advise taking a guarantor.

I would advise you to take proof of income or an employment reference to verify their income.

4 Who will be living with them?

Again, in order to assess the suitability of the tenants for the property, as well as for legal reasons, it is important to be clear about exactly who will be living in the property.

Should you allow too many occupants, you may unwittingly create an HMO.

The number of occupants will also affect the level of wear and tear.

5 Do they have any pets?

Pets are not necessarily a problem but, for example, three large dogs may not be suitable for a flat.

If you choose to allow pets, I would advise that you create a written agreement stating that the tenants are responsible for keeping the animal(s) under control, for the cost of putting right damage caused, and to have the carpets professionally cleaned, deodorised and flea treated at the end of the tenancy.

6 Do they have any adverse credit history?

It is always prudent to carry out credit checks on potential tenants as this will indicated whether they are financially responsible or not.

If there is any adverse credit history I would strongly advise taking a guarantor to protect your interest.

7 Why are they moving?

This is always interesting and can be quite telling, beware of tenants being evicted.

8 What are their long term plans?

Again this can be interesting, and it is useful to know if they intend to stay a long time or just to use the property as a stop gap, but bear in mind people’s plans can, and often do, change.

9 Can they provide previous landlord references?

If they are currently in a rental property, or have rented in the past, they should be able to provide this but always make sure you authenticate them.

10 Have they got the deposit readily available to pay?

This might seem obvious but tenants sometimes think that they can transfer their deposit from their current rental property but their existing landlord will want to have checked over the property after they have moved out before refunding the deposit, where as I would advise that you take a holding deposit to make sure that they are serious, and take the full dilapidations deposit by the tenancy start date.

Furthermore I would advise that you have a proper tenancy agreement drawn up and you must make sure that their deposit is properly dealt with.

There are agents, such as ourselves, who will charge a lower fixed fee for providing tenancy agreement, registering the deposit and dealing with the referencing (this is usually paid by the tenant) rather than market your property and finding a tenant for you.

Please continue to send in your letting related questions to rose@sawyersestateagents.co.uk