In the United States, there was a crime rate of almost 367 per 100,000 people in 2020. This statistic shows just how prevalent crime is.
As a landlord, you never know who you're leasing your investment to. You want to ensure the tenants you choose will treat your short-term rental property respectfully and abstain from any involvement in criminal activities.
But without a comprehensive tenant criminal background check, there's no guarantee. They could be involved with illegal drugs, have a fraud conviction, or worse.
Choosing the right tenants will give you peace of mind, which is why this blog is here to help. Read to learn four compelling reasons to include this check in your tenant screening process.
1. Increase Your Chances of Good Tenants
Including a tenant criminal background check in your screening process increases your chances of renting to good people. As a landlord, you want tenants who pay their rent on time, don't destroy or damage your property, and treat their neighbors respectfully. A tenant criminal background check will tell you if you must avoid particular applicants by providing a report on their criminal history.
Pro Rental Tip: Ensure you declare on your short-term rental application that applicants will be subject to a tenant criminal background check to avoid legal ramifications.
2. Increases Safety
Another reason to check a potential tenant's criminal background is to improve safety for your neighbors. By avoiding applicants who may engage in vandalism or illegal activity, you uphold the security standards of the neighborhood. A tenant who causes damage to your and other people's property can cost you a lot of money in legal issues.
3. Reduces Liability
It would be best if you screened tenants properly to avoid renting to someone who can cause you risk of liability. Of course, as a landlord, you don't want to be responsible for something nefarious that your tenant did. A thorough tenant criminal background check on applicants will help weed out the bad apples, reducing your legal liabilities.
4. Reduced Tenant Turnover Rate
When you don't have angry neighbors breathing down your neck about your terrible tenants, you don't have to go to the trouble of evicting trouble-causers. If you're consistently leasing to bad tenants, you'll go through the eviction process repeatedly. Instead, when you properly screen your tenants, you can ensure you select tenants who will behave and be welcome in your rental unit.
Add a Tenant Criminal Background Check to Your Rental Application
Running a tenant criminal background check comes with several benefits. You can ensure you're finding higher-quality tenants, it reduces your legal liabilities, and it increases the security of your short-term rental property. You can only be sure who you're renting to with a thorough screening process.
Do you need a top-notch short-term property management company in the Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri? Then contact us today and see how our experts can help you.
