Vet Your Tenants!!

Letting agents' 'must carry out proper tenant checks'

Letting agents and landlords have been called upon to ensure they properly vet prospective tenants, following a series of police raids on cannabis farms discovered in homes.

Detective Inspector (DI) Tom Chisholm, from West Midlands Police's Drugs Investigation Team, told the Birmingham Mail that 95 per cent of cannabis factories are established in private rented accommodation. As a result, he claimed "this puts a responsibility on landlords and letting agents" to carry out thorough background checks on renters.

"It is often tempting to accept large amounts of cash up front for many months rent without thoroughly checking the prospective tenant's details," DI Chisholm stated.

The electrical supply to a property housing a cannabis farm will often have been compromised, with DI Chisholm claiming offenders will dig directly into the mains supply to bypass the meter. This was described as very dangerous, as it poses a "massive risk" of a potential fire.

We’re pleased to say that here at Applegate Lettings we have a full system in place to ensure that all applicants are fully checked prior to applications to rent being accepted by our office. This process includes:

• All applicants must meet face to face with a representative of Applegate Lettings or the landlord before they are allowed to submit applications – we believe in building relationships and this starts at the viewing!
•  All applicants must view the property to ensure they are 100% happy – applications will not be accepted unless they have already seen the property.
•  No funds will be taken to hold properties until the application forms have been received. All application forms are inspected before processing and Applegate Lettings only ask for payment if they believe the application is sufficient and likely to pass.
• Full address verification checks are carried out.
• We also do full employment verification including checking references, calling their employers’ head office, confirming payroll, their start date, position and salary.
• We obtain a full previous landlords reference where appropriate.
• Bank validation checks are completed on all tenants.
• We obtain photo ID from all applicants and proof of address if the address validation has not found a current address. This is to comply with money laundering regulations. 

So as you can see, when it comes to knowing if your tenants are suitable to live in one of your properties, here at Applegate Lettings we take every precaution to ensure that there will be a happy relationship between tenant, landlord and letting agent going forward.