Letting agents 'should help landlords carry out tenant checks'

News Category: Industry News

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Letting agents should help landlords carry out background checks on prospective tenants, according to a letting expert.

Writing in the Liverpool Echo, Katie McLoughlin of property website Zoomf, told landlords that many letting agents and property management companies could help them check the reliability of their potential tenants.

"To safeguard your property, before entering into an agreement with a potential tenant its good practice to carry out thorough background checks - including asking for references from their employer and previous landlords," she advised.

She added that letting agents and landlords must also make sure that they put tenant deposits in government authorised schemes to ensure they do not fall foul of the law.

Earlier this week, the Health and Safety Executive issued a warning to landlords to adequately check and maintain gas appliances in their properties after a Cambridgeshire landlord was jailed for 16 months.

Istiaq Ahmed, of St Ives, was sentenced to the term after pleading guilty to four counts of breaching gas safety law and a further charge of perverting the course of justice.

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