10 things you need to trace a tenant

On the first ever Letting Essentials Course we learnt from Simon Bennett of Springfield Associates  what the 10 essential pieces of information that a landlord needs are if a tracing agent is going to be able to find a tenant who has disappeared.  They are surprisingly straightforward, but having these bits at information at the start of the tenancy could give you up to a 75% of your tenant being traced if they abandon your property compared to the figure of only 9% success rate for debt recovery in the courts.

The information he suggest that are needed are:

• FULL name including all middle names 
• Correct date of birth 
• Last known address 
• Last permanent address 
• Family address 
• Partners FULL name 
• Partners last known address and permanent address 
• Family address 
• Phtographic ID - driving licence, Home Office ID card, Passport 
• National Insurance number

 How many of these do you obtain from your tenants before handing them the keys?  Tracing costs start from £75 but be warned finding a penniless tenant can be less than useless if you want your money back...unless you have a solvent tenant guarantor in place.

Worth thinking about.....

Landlord insurance - expert brokers - professional rates