How to choose a tenant: the signals that matter (and the ones that do not)

Choosing a tenant is the most important decision in the whole process: a good tenant turns a let into quiet income for years; a bad one, into an expensive problem. The good news is that the useful signals are few and clear.

What does matter

• Proportionate affordability: the rent fitting their income (the usual industry benchmark is not exceeding around a third). Payslips, or tax returns if self-employed — the latest ones, not those from three years ago.
• Stability: an employment contract, time in the job, or demonstrable activity. Not a guarantee, but the best available approximation.
• Communication: someone who answers clearly, provides paperwork without excuses and asks sensible questions about the contract usually behaves the same way as a tenant.
• References from a previous tenancy, if any: two minutes on the phone are worth more than any intuition.

What you must not use as a filter

The law prohibits discrimination on grounds of origin, sex, orientation, religion, disability or any other personal characteristic. Beyond being illegal, it is a terrible filter: it predicts absolutely nothing about whether someone will pay and look after the flat. Affordability data and references do.

The process that avoids trouble

• Ask every candidate for the same paperwork: it is fairer and it lets you genuinely compare.
• Do not hand over keys or sign in a rush for fear of losing the candidate: 48 hours of checks is reasonable and anyone serious understands that.
• Put everything in writing from the first euro: holding deposit, deposit and a dated contract.

At Totukeli we are working to make this part progressively easier: the platform application flow will organise candidates and paperwork in one place during the next stages of early access.