Renting out a property can be seen as a business partnership. And like every partnership, it comes with its set of risks, and choosing the wrong tenant can quickly lead to late rent payments, property damage, complaints and conflicts with other neighbours or legal disputes. That’s why landlords and property managers ask for professional and renting references during the screening process, as they serve as a more unbiased way to get more information and make a fair assessment of a potential tenant’s character.
Unfortunately, it is common that tenants hide red flags by having friends and family posing as employers and previous landlords. In this blog, we’re going to give some recommendations to help you separate real references from fake ones, so you can choose your tenants with the peace of mind that your property will be in good hands.
Step-By-Step to Confirm Your Tenant’s References Are Legit
1 – Verify Income and Call the Employers Directly
Employment verification is one of the most reliable indicators of a tenant’s financial stability and determines if the rent price would fit their budget. Don’t settle for just the income information the potential tenant states in their application. Instead, we recommend asking for their most recent pay statements.
You also need to verify you have the details of a real employer, not a friend or relative posing as one. To make sure the information the applicant provided is accurate, go to the company’s website or LinkedIn page and use those numbers to contact them.
When you call, ask to be connected to the HR department or the applicant’s supervisor if they provided their name, and confirm the information you have in hand. Be as thorough as possible with your questions, and verify key information to check if the potential tenant’s story checks out. The most important items include:
- Employment status: full-time, part-time, contract, etc.
- Job title
- Length of employment
- Estimated income or salary range: Most employers won’t share specific amounts, but they can confirm if it matches the applicant’s claims and the pay statements.
2 – Verify Rental History
Just like with employment, not every “landlord” tenants list is real. As we mentioned above, many applicants make friends or relatives pose as landlords to mask a bad rental history. These are some of the steps to verify your applicant’s rental history is in order:
- Verify Property Ownership: You can know who owns the property the applicant rented before by consulting Alberta’s SPIN2 System and purchasing a copy of the title. Another option is to find a Registry Agent office near you to have them search it on your behalf.
- Confirm Property Management Licensing: If the applicant’s rental reference is a property management company, check if they’re licensed through the Real Estate Council of Alberta (RECA) using their licensee search tool.
- Call and Ask: Once you verify the ownership or management of the property, ask questions about the tenancy. These are the questions that will give you the details you need:
- Rent payment history
- Property care during the tenancy
- Complaints or conflict records
- Notice given before move-out
- Whether they would rent to them again
- Beware of the Red Flags: The quality of the answers you get can reveal more than the words. A real landlord who had a genuine rental relationship will easily recall important details about the tenant, like payment behaviour, cleanliness, or lease compliance. Their answers will feel natural, consistent, and based on real experiences, whether positive or negative.
In contrast, if they struggle to provide essential details, overuse generic statements like “Everything was okay!”, are vague to give answers about dates, payment history, issues or complaints, or sound scripted, the chances of the reference being false are high. In these cases, it’s safer to assume there’s something you’re not being told.
3 – Cross-Check Documentation
The documentation provided on the application only tells you the story the applicant wants you to know; that’s why you need to match dates and details on all the documentation you have and cross-check employment references, pay statements, and rental history with what you have. Catching inconsistencies early will save you from renting to someone who isn’t being truthful.
Rent Based On Trust
There’s no successful business partnership without trust between the parties involved, and a tenancy is no exception. Going through your tenant’s references and checking if they’re legit isn’t just another landlord chore on your list; it’s one of the most important tasks to protect your property, your revenue, and your peace of mind knowing you’re renting out to a person you trust will take care of the property like it’s theirs.
However, if you know you don’t have the time to invest in tenant screening and reference checks, hiring professional help is the best way to not only have the reassurance that good tenants are living in your property, but that your property is always well-maintained and building your wealth. If your property is in the Calgary area, reach out to get a quote.
