How Long Do Tenant Background Checks Take?

Not too long ago, landlords never bothered with checking out the backgrounds of their tenants. This would often lead to tenants who would leave behind a trail of destruction or a significant amount of unpaid bills.

Nowadays, almost every landlord will hire a private investigator or an investigative agency to screen any potential tenants. Background checks can delay the verification of a tenant, however, as many landlords have found out, it's always worth it to wait for a good tenant.

Why Do Landlords Require A Tenant Background Check?

For many landlords, the need for hiring a private investigator to conduct a background check is quite obvious. Anyone who's been through certain incidents involving tenants will know that there are issues that can be avoided by simply asking a private investigator to look into the tenant before you sign any agreement.

Some of the factors that compel tenancy background checks include:

Assessing financial circumstances: To avoid unpaid rent, landlords will want a private investigator to confirm that a prospective tenant is able to afford the rent.
Credit check: If a tenant has had issues paying bills in the past, landlords will want to know about this early.
Right to rent: In order to rent in the UK, you must have the necessary immigration papers and also be over 18. Landlords will want to confirm this to avoid legal problems.
Proof of identity: Landlords will want to know that their tenants are who they say they are and not some other unscrupulous character.
Previous landlord's experience: Landlords will also want to see how a tenant behaved at their previous address by checking with their previous landlords etc.

In a tenancy situation, there are many things that can go wrong. Therefore, a landlord will want a private investigator to perform a background check so they can take the steps required to protect themselves.

What Information Can A Tenant Background Check Reveal?

When a private investigator performs a background check of a tenant, there is a lot of information that can be revealed that will be of interest to the landlord. This includes:

Whether the tenant is creditworthy or has a history of defaulting on payments
How the tenant treated previous homes or apartments that they've stayed in
Whether the tenant has a right to rent in the UK
The type of neighbour that the tenant was and whether or not they got along well with others
Whether a tenant has the means to cover their rent regularly on their own etc.

All this information will influence the landlord's decision on whether or not they should rent their property to a particular individual.

How Long Does It Take A Private Investigator To Carry Out A Tenant Background Check?

Depending on the type of checks being done, it can take anywhere from a few hours to several weeks to perform a background check on a tenant. For example, identity and financial checks can be done in no more than a few hours; with the tenant's consent.

Basic criminal record checks, on the other hand, can take between 14 and 21 days to complete. Standard and enhanced criminal checks require 4 and 6 weeks respectively.

Following on references e.g. previous landlords, usually comes down to the speed with which the other party responds. The same issue applies when it comes to proof of employment. Therefore, tenants should find ways of accelerating the response from such parties.

How Does A Background Check Verify Employment

Whats A Background Check

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom, commonly Britain or the UK but officially the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland is an independent country. The United Kingdom includes smaller islands in the British Isles, the north-eastern part of Ireland and Great Britain. The United Kingdom is the 78th-largest ss in the world, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres. Although the kingdom of Great Britains official name from 1707 to 1800 was "Great Britain", the term "United Kingdom" has been used for it. The term "Britain" is used as a synonym for the United Kingdom and as a synonym for Great Britain.
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Commonly used to refer to matters relating to the United Kingdom is the adjective "British". Northern Ireland remained part of the United Kingdom. Approximately 243,610 square kilometres is the area of the United Kingdom. Throughout the 20th century, coupled with economic decline after world wars, as other nations industrialised, the United Kingdom heavy industry declined and began to lose its competitive advantage. By 1961 this number, just over 0.7% of the United Kingdom population, had more than quadrupled to 384,000. In 2006 the United Kingdom was the largest puplisher of books in the world and in 2005, 206,000 books were published.
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There are some sports in which the United Kingdom is represented by the Great Britain team, including the Olympics, where a single team represents the UK. The UK PC on Geographical Names stating that it has been used "informally", does not list "Britain", it lists "U.K. or UK" and "United Kingdom" as terms for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. A member of the Commonwealth of Nations amongst others is the United Kingdom. Sometimes referred to as the 'Scottish School of Common Sense' the United Kingdom is famous for 'Scottish Philosophy', and the 'British Empiricism'.
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With plentiful rainfall all year round, the United Kingdom has a temperate climate. In October 2009, a new SC of the United Kingdom came. Her Majesty's Armed Forces - The forces of the United Kingdom consist of three professional service branches. With over 27 million arriving in 2004, Tourism is important to the British economy; London has the most international visitors of any city in the world and the United Kingdom is ranked as the sixth major destination in the world.
Searching For UK Sights

The total population of the United Kingdom in the 2011 census was 63,181,775. In the United Kingdom, forms of Christianity have dominated religious life for over 1400 years. In Ireland, then part of the United Kingdom, the Great Famine resulted in a million people migrating to Great Britain. With each county having a separate education system, education is a devolved matter in the United Kingdom.
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Together with holistic, alternative and complementary treatments, each country in the United Kingdom has its system of publicly funded and private healthcare and healthcare is a devolved matter. Sir Edward Elgar, RV Williams, William Byrd, Gustav Holst, Henry Purcell and Arthur Sullivan (most famous for working with the playwright Sit W.S. Gilbert) are notable composers of classical music from the United Kingdom and the countries that preceeded it. In the United Kingdom, a 2003 poll found that football is the most popular.

I wasn’t quite sure that I was ready to share my personal information with anyone. However, Private Investigator UK made everything seem easy. They were very cooperative, made me feel comfortable working with them and eventually helped me a lot. I would highly recommend the team of private detectives to everyone who is reluctant to cooperate with detective agencies.

Kevin Wright

I had an eerie feeling that someone was following me so I decided to contact Private Investigators. The entire team was extremely helpful throughout the entire investigation and they made me feel very comfortable and calm around them. I would always be grateful for their help!

Elizabeth Archer

How Long Do Tenant Background Checks Take?

Why Do Landlords Require A Tenant Background Check?

What Information Can A Tenant Background Check Reveal?

How Long Does It Take A Private Investigator To Carry Out A Tenant Background Check?

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