As a landlord or property manager, there’s no doubt you're searching for good and reliable tenants who will not cause problems and will pay rent on time. Finding and trusting the right one has its challenges as you’re tempted to fill vacancies as quickly as possible. Be judicial in searching and evaluating new tenants as they could possibly pay rent late or even damage the property. The process can save you headaches. It’s a big risk having a stranger stay at your property and not knowing anything about them.
Conduct a background and credit check. A background check established whether the tenant or renter has a criminal, eviction, or even a fraudulent history. As for tenant credit check, it is used to measure whether they cant pay their bills
Since 2014, the Central Bank of Dubai has created the Al Etihad Credit Bureau, which collects and pools business and individual credit information from multiple utility companies, financial institutions, and government sources in the city.
On that note, the four types of reports the UAE credit bureau generates are short reports, long reports, long with scores, and scores only.
If the prospective tenant provides permission for a background credit check, you are permitted to look into open and closed credit cards, monetary judgments, late payments, and more.
Therefore, here are some tips or steps to protect your investment before handing your apartment over to a new tenant.
Review the credit score
In Dubai, residents are given a credit score that runs between 300 and 900. If the credit score is below 600, then that’s something to worry about.
Cross check on whether some tenants may leave out their past addresses, multiple applications have been filed with lending institutions, and payment history for contracts or any overdue contracts.
Check the medical history
Expats in Dubai already have already had a medical report done for visa purposes. So this is not a very big issue, but can be done if asked. In any case, make sure the prospective tenants get the medical report from a government-approved medical center.
Conduct criminal records
Conducting a criminal record is crucial in any solid tenant credit check and should be part of the screening process to make sure the tenant has no history of crime, So, request a Certificate of Good Conduct issued by the Dubai Police Department from your tenant. Make it a part of your tenant screening process to request one of these proofs.
Seek credit and background checks in their homeland
As mentioned previously above, a background check and a credit report are a safety measure and financial barometer, respectively, just to be certain that you’re renting out your apartment to the best possible tenant or renter in Dubai.
If there are interested expat tenants or newcomers from abroad, make sure you seek out a credit check from their home country. Additionally, check that the report can be ordered and delivered online rather than by post before going ahead with anything.
Observe their social media networks
Landlords should always use a third party background like social media as well as a credit checking service to do a quick check on prospective tenants. All data and information is online, whether it’s a quick search on Google to pulling out information from Facebook profiles, Twitter tweets, LinkedIn CV’s and other, all while making sure the information online matches up with their profile as a tenant. It’s good to see what they publicly post.
Call Ex-landlords or get references
Another effective tool is to get a background check of the tenant by dialling up a previous landlord or their recent landlord. Be sure to ask the right questions like ‘When did the tenant live there?’, ‘Did they serve a legal notice?’ ‘Did they give proper vacating notice?’, ‘Were you able to return the tenant’s security deposit?’, ‘Did they pay on time?’, ‘ Would you rent to them again?’,’ Did they have any issues with the neighbors?' and more, to verify if the tenant meets their obligations. Take previous landlord references seriously when reviewing their application.
The history of a landlord or tenant can be checked with new certificate system the Rental Good Conduct (RGC) certificate, launched by the Rental Dispute Centre (RDC) in Dubai, to check for any recorded rental problems or to know about the other’s rental history.
Conduct in-person interviews
Apart from calling for references for landlords, interview potential tenants in person because the credit score alone is no longer the reliable indicator it once was. Their tone and body language tells a lot about a person. Make sure to screen all applicants interested in your property, like a couple or roommates.
Get employment verification and income proof
Lastly, verify the tenants’ income. Ask their employer questions such as the duration of their employment, salary, working days and more. This will ease your mind as to make sure prospective tenant has the ability to pay rent on time. Also ask for proof of income, or request their latest payslip or a signed contract with their income.
If you’re still unsure about a new or potential tenant, you contact us to help advise and aide you with the screening process. Also, we have a great lineup of real estate agents willing to help you any way they can with ready or off plan properties in Dubai.