Questions to Ask a Previous Landlord
Questions to ask a previous landlord about a prospective tenant, for anyone checking rental references before approving an application. Of everyone a renter lists as a reference, a former landlord is the only one who has seen them as a tenant, so this is the call that can tell you how the tenancy actually went. The first five are the ones to get through if the call lasts two minutes: dates, payment record, lease breaches, the state of the place when it was handed back, and whether they would rent to the person again. The rest cover rent and notices, house rules, upkeep, conduct and moving out, and every one stays on the tenancy rather than the person.
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The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
The Basics
Can I confirm the address you rented to them and the dates they were there?
Why ask it
Start here, because it shows you have reached the real landlord of the real unit. If the dates differ from the application, take the difference back to the applicant before you assume anything: an honest slip and a tenancy left off on purpose look the same on paper.
Did they pay the rent in full and on time, and how many times was it late?
Why ask it
Ask for the count, not a yes or no. "Mostly on time" can cover one slow month in three years or a week late every month, and only the number tells you which.
Did they break any terms of the lease while they lived there?
Why ask it
Leave it open and see which breach the landlord names first, since that is likely the one that cost them time or money. Then ask whether it stopped once it was raised. A problem fixed after one conversation and a problem that took three letters describe very different tenants.
What condition was the place in when they handed it back?
Why ask it
Ask this before you mention the deposit, so you hear a description of the rooms and not a defence of the deductions. If the answer is just "fine", go through the kitchen, the bathroom and the floors one at a time.
Would you rent to them again?
Why ask it
This asks for the landlord's whole judgement in one word, and a pause before the answer is worth noting too. If they answered everything else freely and will not answer this, find out whether that is company policy or their own choice.
How would you describe them as a tenant, in your own words?
Why ask it
Listen for what they lead with and what they leave out. If all you hear is that the tenant was pleasant, with nothing on rent or the state of the unit, bring up those two yourself before you move on.
Are you the owner of the property, or did you manage it for someone else?
Why ask it
An owner tends to speak from memory and a manager from a file, and each has blind spots. If the person you reach took over the building partway through the tenancy, ask who handled the earlier years and whether the records go back that far.
Who was named on the lease, and did everyone on it stay for the whole tenancy?
Why ask it
Your applicant may have been one of three names, or an occupant who never signed anything. That changes how much of the payment record is really theirs, so find out which of the tenants the landlord dealt with when something needed sorting.
Did they renew with you, and was the renewal your offer or their request?
Why ask it
A landlord who offered a second and third term has already answered the rent-again question in practice. If the lease was left to run out with no offer made, ask why in a neutral voice and then wait.
Have they moved out already, or are they still your tenant?
Why ask it
Applicants sometimes list their current landlord under "previous". A landlord who still has the tenant may want the unit back or may be sorry to lose them, and either can colour the reference. Use that call for dates and payments, and look to the landlord before for opinions.
Did you know them before they rented from you, as family, a friend or an employee?
Why ask it
People do rent from a relative, an employer or a friend's parent, and those tenancies tend to run on looser rules. The reference still counts, but a missed month between family rarely gets written down, so lean harder on documents for that address.
Is there anything I haven't asked that you'd want to know if you were in my position?
Why ask it
Keep this for the very end of the call, whatever else you skip. Then stay quiet for a few seconds: a landlord deciding whether to mention something needs the silence more than another question.
Rent and Notices
What was the monthly rent, and was it ever raised while they were there?
Why ask it
The figure should match the one on the application, and a real landlord gives it without having to think. If your contact hesitates here, or cannot say what deposit was held, verify who you are speaking to before going further.
Did they ever ask to pay late or in instalments, and how did that go?
Why ask it
This gets you further than asking about their finances, which are not yours to explore. A tenant who gave warning and then kept to the arrangement handled a bad month well. One who went quiet until the landlord chased did not.
Did you charge any late fees, and were they paid?
Why ask it
A fee on the ledger has a date and an amount, which makes it harder to round down than a memory of the rent being a bit slow. Fees paid without argument show a tenant who accepted the terms they signed. Fees never paid belong on the list of what is still owed.
Did a rent payment ever bounce or get reversed?
Why ask it
A single returned payment in a long tenancy can be a bank error. What you want is how quickly it was made good, and whether the landlord insisted on a different way of paying afterwards.
Did you ever have to serve a formal notice, for rent or for anything else?
Why ask it
A notice is a document with a date on it, so the answer is harder to soften than an impression of slow rent. Ask what it was for, and whether the tenant put things right within the time it gave them.
Did it ever go as far as an eviction filing in court?
Why ask it
A case that was settled or withdrawn may not show up in a screening report. If there was a filing, ask how it ended. Then check what the rules where your property is allow you to weigh, since some places restrict the use of old or dismissed cases.
Were any utilities in their name, and did any unpaid bills come back to you?
Why ask it
Where water or gas stays tied to the property, a final bill the tenant skipped can land on the owner months later. A landlord who had to chase one will remember the amount, and it is the kind of debt a screening report may never show.
Is there any balance still owed to you?
Why ask it
Unpaid rent or damages do not always reach a court record or a credit file, so this call may be the only place you hear of them. If there is a balance, the next thing to learn is whether the tenant is paying it down, disputing it or ignoring it.
Would you be willing to send me the rent ledger or the move-out statement?
Why ask it
Paper matters most when the answers on rent were vague or the landlord turned out to be a relative. Some will only send it after seeing the applicant's signed release, so have that ready to forward. A refusal on company policy is not a mark against the tenant.
House Rules
Was there anyone living there who wasn't on the lease?
Why ask it
Keep the question on the lease: who had signed, and who was actually living there. If someone moved in unlisted, the useful part is whether the tenant added them once it was raised. How that person was related to the tenant is not your business.
Were there pets, and were they on the lease?
Why ask it
The second half is the real question: a declared pet that left no damage is good news, and an undeclared one shows what the tenant did with a term they disliked. Assistance animals are often treated differently from pets by law, so check the rule where you are before counting one.
Was the unit non-smoking, and did they keep to that?
Why ask it
Smoke is expensive to get out of walls and carpet and hard to miss at move-out, so the previous landlord will usually know. If smoking was permitted there and is banned in your building, that is a conversation to have with the applicant before signing, not a strike against them.
Did they ever sublet the place or list it for short stays?
Why ask it
Short-stay listings bring strangers through the building, extra wear, and sometimes a fine from the city or the association. Find out whether permission was asked for first and what the tenant did when the answer was no.
How many vehicles did they keep at the property, and were there parking problems?
Why ask it
Parking looks minor on an application and causes real friction once people live side by side: a blocked drive, a car that never moves, a trailer on the grass. Compare the number you are given with what the applicant listed for your property.
Did they ask before making changes to the unit, like painting or mounting things?
Why ask it
A tenant who asked before putting up shelves gave the landlord the chance to say how. One who painted a bedroom dark and mentioned it at move-out left a bill behind, and the size of that bill is worth having.
Did you ever get a notice from the city, the building or a homeowners association about their unit?
Why ask it
Fines for bins, noise or an overgrown yard arrive addressed to the owner, so the landlord hears about them even when the neighbours say nothing. Ask what the notice was for, and whether the tenant dealt with it or left it on the landlord's desk.
Knowing what you know now, is there anything you'd have put in the lease from the start?
Why ask it
A cautious landlord can answer this without accusing anyone: "I'd have capped the number of cars" tells you plenty. Whatever they name, see whether your own lease already covers it.
Upkeep
When you were inside the unit during the tenancy, how was it being kept?
Why ask it
A landlord who never went in during the tenancy cannot speak to housekeeping at all, only to move-out day. Find that out before you weigh anything else they say about condition.
How did they report maintenance problems, and did you hear about them early enough?
Why ask it
The costly tenant is the one who says nothing until a slow leak has reached the floor below, not the one who calls often. A landlord who grumbles about frequent small reports is describing someone who looked after the property.
Did they give you access for inspections and repairs when you asked?
Why ask it
Ask whether appointments were kept or kept being moved, and whether a contractor was ever turned away at the door. A tenant who insisted on the notice the lease promised was holding the landlord to the agreement, which is not the same as refusing entry.
Were any repairs down to how they used the place, like a blocked drain or a broken fitting?
Why ask it
Everyone blocks a drain once. You are asking whether it kept happening, and whether they paid without a fight when the lease made the cost theirs.
Were there any pest problems in the unit, and did they cooperate with the treatment?
Why ask it
Pests often come with the building, so a yes here says nothing against the tenant by itself. Treatment only works when the tenant empties cupboards, bags up linens and lets the technician in on the day, and that cooperation is the part that carries over to your property.
Were the yard, snow or bins their job under the lease, and did it get done?
Why ask it
This only applies if you rent out a house or a unit with outdoor space, where those chores usually pass to the tenant. A landlord who ended up hiring a mowing service halfway through the lease has given you the answer.
Conduct
Did you get complaints from neighbours, about noise or anything else?
Why ask it
The subject matters more than the count. A loud weekend now and then and a running dispute over parking or shared spaces are different risks for your building, and how each complaint ended tells you more than how it began.
Did they raise complaints of their own about neighbours or the building, and were those fair?
Why ask it
A tenant who reported a broken entry light or a real noise problem was doing the landlord a favour. The pattern worth hearing about is the weekly grievance over things nobody could fix, since those messages will be coming to you next.
How did they respond when you had to raise a problem with them?
Why ask it
A hesitant reference often gets specific here, because the landlord is describing a conversation and not passing judgement. Listen for whether a disagreement stayed a conversation or turned into threats and pages of email.
Were they easy to reach, and how soon did they usually reply?
Why ask it
Unanswered messages turn a ten-minute fix into two weeks of notes on the door. Ask which channel got a reply, because some tenants never pick up a phone and answer every email within the hour.
How did they get on with your contractors and building staff?
Why ask it
A landlord mostly sees a tenant on best behaviour, while the plumber and the cleaner meet the everyday version. If a contractor refused to go back, you will want the story.
Did their guests ever cause trouble at the property?
Why ask it
Many leases make a tenant answerable for the people they let in. One party that got out of hand is a different thing from a regular visitor the neighbours came to know by sight, so find out which it was and whether it stopped.
Did anything they did ever put the building or other residents at risk?
Why ask it
This is the place for the serious things: a disabled smoke alarm, a blocked fire exit, threats to a neighbour, a lease breach that brought the police. Ask what happened and what the lease said about it. Leave aside calls the tenant made for help, since some places bar a landlord from holding those against a tenant.
Moving Out
Was it a fixed-term lease or month to month, and did they stay to the end of the term?
Why ask it
Leaving four months into a twelve-month lease is not automatically a mark against someone. The useful detail is how the early exit went: whether they gave warning, helped find a replacement, or paid what the lease asked for.
How much notice did they give before moving out?
Why ask it
Measure the answer against what that lease required, not against your own. Notice that fell a week or two short deserves a follow-up on why, since a sudden job move and a habit of leaving without a word are not the same thing.
Why did they leave?
Why ask it
Compare the answer with what the applicant told you. A different reason proves nothing, but it is the thing to raise with the applicant. If the landlord says they asked the tenant to go, wait, and the explanation tends to follow.
Did they leave on the agreed date and hand back every key?
Why ask it
Two extra days past the end of a lease can cost the next tenant their move-in date. Missing keys and fobs sound trivial until you price a lock change, so ask for the count that came back.
Did you do a move-out walkthrough together?
Why ask it
A tenant who walked the rooms with the landlord and signed the checklist generally accepted what it said. Someone who dropped the keys through the door may only have been busy, but ask whether it left an argument behind.
Did they leave anything behind, such as furniture or bags of rubbish?
Why ask it
Clearing a sofa and a garage full of boxes costs money and holds up the next tenant, and in some places abandoned belongings have to be stored for a period before they can go. It tends to get filed under cleaning and forgotten unless you ask about it by name.
Did they get the full deposit back, and if not, what was kept and why?
Why ask it
You want the reasons item by item, since some landlords deduct for cleaning as routine and others only for real damage. A full return after a long tenancy is about as clear a good sign as this call offers.
Was there anything you had to repair after they left that went beyond normal wear?
Why ask it
Scuffs and worn carpet come with any tenancy. Holes, unapproved paint and altered fittings do not, and if the bill ran past the deposit the landlord will remember the figure.
Did they leave a forwarding address for the deposit and their mail?
Why ask it
A tenant expecting money back makes sure the landlord can find them. No address at all, after a tenancy that closed with a balance, can mean they knew a bill was on its way.
Did anything end badly between you, or come up after they moved out?
Why ask it
The answer also tells you how far to trust the rest of the reference. A landlord still arguing with the tenant over a deposit has a reason to describe them harshly, so weigh the earlier answers with that in mind.
Running a Landlord Reference Check
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Getting a Tenant Reference You Can Rely On
Verify the number independently
Look up the property's owner in public records, or find the management company's published number, and call that instead of the mobile number on the application. A number the applicant supplied could belong to a friend, and nothing in the call itself will tell you so.
Get written permission first
Have the applicant sign a release naming each previous landlord you may contact. Some landlords will only speak once they have seen it, and some will confirm dates and nothing else without it.
Keep every question about the tenancy
Ask about rent, notices, condition, conduct, and access. Do not ask about health, disability, children, marital status, national origin, religion, or where the income came from. Fair-housing rules differ from place to place, so read the ones that cover your property, and make it a habit to discuss the tenancy rather than the tenant.
Ask the same questions of every applicant
Use one written list and record the answers on the same form each time. It keeps the comparison between applicants fair, and it stops you probing hardest on the applicant you already doubt.
Ask for counts and dates
"How many times" and "when was that" turn a vague impression into something you can weigh. People soften bad news about someone they dealt with for years, and specifics are how you get past the softening.
Back the call up with paper
When the answers on rent are vague, or the landlord turns out to be a relative or an employer, ask for the rent ledger or the move-out statement. Dates and amounts on a page do not depend on anyone's memory or goodwill. Expect to show the applicant's signed release before it is sent.
How These Calls Mislead You
The glowing reference from a landlord who wants them gone
A landlord who is trying to get a tenant out has a reason to help them find somewhere else. Warmth with no specifics, and reluctance to talk about notices or the deposit, is the pattern to watch for.
Reading silence as a red flag
Some management companies confirm dates and rent and nothing more, as a matter of policy. That says nothing about the tenant, so ask factual yes-or-no questions and look for the judgement elsewhere.
Only calling the most recent landlord
The current landlord has an interest in the outcome either way. Two references, one of them older, give you a pattern rather than a single opinion.
Asking leading questions
"They were fine with the rent, I assume?" gets agreement, not information. Keep the question open, then stop talking and wait for the answer.
Charging the building's faults to the tenant
Pests, damp, a boiler that failed twice and a string of repair requests can all describe a tired property and a perfectly good tenant. On those questions, score how the tenant reported the problem and cooperated with the fix, not the fact that it happened.
Weighing something you are not allowed to weigh
Rules on old eviction filings, dismissed cases, calls for emergency help and similar records differ from one place to the next, and some limit what a landlord may count against an applicant. Write down what you are told, then check the rules where the property is before it goes into the decision.
How to Order the Call
If the landlord can only spare two minutes
- 1Confirm the address and the dates.
- 2Ask how many times the rent was late.
- 3Ask whether any lease terms were broken.
- 4Ask what condition the place was handed back in.
- 5"Would you rent to them again?"
A full call, opening: establish the facts
- 1Confirm the address and the dates of the tenancy.
- 2Confirm who was on the lease, the monthly rent and any increase.
- 3Ask how many late payments there were.
- 4Ask whether any formal notice was served.
A full call, middle: rules, conduct and condition
- 1Ask about occupants, pets and anything else the lease covered.
- 2Ask how maintenance problems were reported.
- 3Ask about access for inspections and repairs.
- 4Ask about neighbour complaints and what they were about.
- 5Ask how the move-out went: notice, keys, the walkthrough and the deposit.
A full call, last minute: the judgement calls
- 1"Would you rent to them again?"
- 2"Is anything still owed?"
- 3"Would you send me the ledger or the move-out statement?"
- 4"Is there anything I haven't asked that you'd want to know?"