Use a short, consistent checklist that requires a signed application, identity verification, income checks, a credit report from an NCR-registered bureau, rental history and references, plus written consent before anything else. Apply the same six checks to every applicant. Written consent and consistent criteria are not optional extras: they protect you and the applicant.
TL;DR:
- Landlords should require signed applications, identity verification, income documents, and credit reports from NCR-registered bureaus for consistent tenant screening.
- Verifying references and rental history through independent contacts and asking if previous landlords would rent again offers deep insight into applicant reliability.
- Using a structured checklist and scoring system for all applicants ensures fairness, reduces bias, and helps defend decisions legally.
- During crises, maintaining the same strict criteria and collecting documents digitally prevents increased risks associated with unusual circumstances.
- Automated verification platforms can streamline the process by ensuring identity, property, and document checks are consistent and secure.
Table of Contents
- Step-by-step tenant screening checklist
- Legal and privacy essentials to include in your screening
- Documenting decisions and recordkeeping
- Practical templates and screening questions you can copy
- How verification and structured workflows reduce risk
- Managing tenant screening during unusual circumstances
- Avoiding discrimination in your screening process
- Using a screening service versus doing it yourself
- Verifying co-signers and guarantors
- Practical perspective for landlords with small portfolios
- A verified rental marketplace can help with the heavy lifting
- FAQ
- Sources
Step-by-step tenant screening checklist
Run these steps in order, for every applicant, every time. Consistency is what protects you if a decision is ever challenged.
- Set your criteria before you advertise. Decide on a minimum income ratio, pet policy, maximum occupants and minimum rental history before the first viewing.
- Pre-screen by phone or email. Ask about move date, household income, number of occupants and willingness to undergo checks.
- Require a signed rental application and written consent. No application form means no verifiable paper trail, and no consent means no lawful credit check.
- Verify identity. Accept a South African ID, passport or valid visa, and check that the photo, name and document number are consistent across every form the applicant has given you.
- Verify income. Ask for recent payslips and three months of bank statements; self-employed applicants should supply tax returns or signed financial statements. A gross monthly income of at least three times the rent is a commonly used guideline, not a legal requirement, so weigh it alongside other evidence.
- Confirm employment. Phone the employer directly using a number you find independently, not one supplied only by the applicant, and confirm role, salary band and length of service.
- Pull a credit report from a registered bureau. The National Credit Act requires that credit information passes through registered channels, so only use an NCR-registered bureau. Read the report for judgments, payment defaults and the pattern of missed payments rather than a single late account.
- Check rental history and eviction records. Contact the current and a previous landlord separately, and ask whether any formal eviction process was ever started.
- Call references and ask the decisive question. Open-ended questions about payment history and move-out condition are more revealing than a yes or no. Research on rental practices found that the single most useful reference question is simply whether the previous landlord would rent to the applicant again, and that probing follow-ups such as asking how the reference is connected to the property help catch fabricated references.
- Run a background check only where legally relevant and proportionate. Use it to confirm identity and verify claims, not as a blanket filter that could disadvantage applicants unfairly.
- Score and decide using the same sheet for everyone. Record which criteria each applicant met, then send a consistent outcome letter, whether approved or declined.
A few red flags are worth watching for at every stage:
- Reluctance to sign a consent form or provide payslips.
- Landlord references that cannot be verified against an independent phone number or address.
- Pay slips with inconsistent formatting, fonts or employer details.
- A pattern of short tenancies with no clear explanation.
Pro Tip: Score applicants on paper before you discuss them verbally. It keeps the decision anchored to criteria, not first impressions.
Legal and privacy essentials to include in your screening
A few legal obligations shape which checks you can run and how you must handle the data you collect.
- Under POPIA, you need express written consent before pulling a credit report or processing personal information, and you should collect only what you genuinely need for the decision.
- The National Credit Act requires that credit checks run through a registered bureau, and applicants retain the right to access and challenge what is recorded about them.
- The Rental Housing Act prohibits unfair discrimination in advertising and leasing, and it sets out rules for deposits and property inspections that sit alongside your screening process.
- Keep your consent wording and data retention schedule reviewed by a legal professional, since the full text of each act is the final word, not this summary.
Documenting decisions and recordkeeping
Every applicant folder should hold the same documents: the signed application, the consent form, copies of identity and income checks, reference notes with dates, and the employer contact used to verify employment.
- Keep a dated decision log that shows which criteria each applicant met or missed.
- Record the objective reason for every denial, worded the same way you would word an approval.
- Set a retention period and a secure storage method in line with POPIA, then delete records once that period passes.
- Consistent records let you defend a decision quickly and re-let a vacant property with less back and forth.
Pro Tip: Store each applicant's folder under a reference number rather than a name, and keep the decision log in a separate file from the personal documents.
Practical templates and screening questions you can copy
A short script and a fixed set of fields save time and keep every applicant on equal footing.
Pre-screen script (5 to 7 questions): desired move-in date, monthly household income, number of adults and children, pets, reason for moving, and consent to a credit and reference check.
Application fields to request from every adult occupant:
- Full legal name, ID or passport number, and current address.
- Monthly income and employer details.
- Current and previous landlord contact details.
- Emergency contact and, where relevant, guarantor details.
Sample consent line (have a lawyer finalise the exact wording): "I consent to [landlord name] obtaining a credit report and contacting my employer and previous landlords to verify the information in this application."
Top reference questions: how long did they rent from you, were payments made on time, what condition was the property left in, and, decisively, would you rent to them again.
Red-flag checklist: unverifiable references, inconsistent pay slips, unexplained short tenancies, resistance to signing consent.
How verification and structured workflows reduce risk
A structured process does more than tick boxes: it closes the gaps where fraud and wasted viewings creep in.
- Verifying identity documents and contact details before a viewing cuts down on fake or time-wasting applicants.
- Structured viewing requests mean you see an applicant's basic details before you commit time to a showing.
- Secure messaging keeps sensitive documents like payslips and ID copies off unprotected channels such as open email threads or instant messaging groups.
- Verified data points, collected the same way for every applicant, shorten the time between a viewing and a confident decision.
Managing tenant screening during unusual circumstances
Disruptions such as pandemics, natural disasters or sudden local job losses change the risk picture without changing the rules. Keep your criteria exactly as they were: the temptation to loosen income thresholds or skip reference checks because applicants are scarce tends to create problems later.
Where in-person viewings or document handovers are not possible, move the same checklist online. Collect payslips and bank statements digitally, hold reference calls by phone or video, and verify identity through a clear photo comparison rather than skipping the step.
Expect more applicants to show temporary income gaps or furlough periods during a crisis. Ask for context rather than rejecting automatically: a short explanation paired with current bank statements and an employer letter can still support a sound decision. Document whatever flexibility you apply and use the same flexibility for every applicant in a similar position, so your criteria stay consistent even when circumstances are not normal.
Avoiding discrimination in your screening process
The Rental Housing Act prohibits unfair discrimination in both advertising and leasing, and a consistent checklist is the practical way to meet that standard rather than just the legal minimum.
Write your criteria down before you see a single applicant, and apply the identical list regardless of who is in front of you. Avoid questions about family status, nationality, religion or health that have no bearing on the ability to pay rent and maintain the property. Keep a decision log for every applicant, noting the objective reason for approval or denial, since a consistent paper trail is your clearest defence if a decision is ever questioned.
Review your advertising wording too: phrases that imply a preference for a particular type of tenant can create risk even before an application is received. A checklist only protects you if it is applied the same way every time, including when a property is in high demand and the temptation to skip steps is strongest.
Using a screening service versus doing it yourself
Running every check yourself, phoning employers, pulling a credit report, calling references, gives you full control and no service fee, but it costs time and depends on your own judgement to catch inconsistencies.
A screening service or registered credit bureau brings a standardised report and faster turnaround, which matters if you manage several properties or want a second set of eyes on a credit history. The trade-off is cost and, sometimes, a report that still needs your own reference calls and employer checks layered on top.
Many landlords land on a middle path: a professional credit report from an NCR-registered bureau, paired with DIY reference calls and employer verification, since the most revealing parts of screening, judging tone, consistency and the answer to "would you rent to them again", still rely on a human conversation rather than a report.
Verifying co-signers and guarantors
A guarantor only strengthens an application if they are screened with the same rigour as the tenant. Request the same documents: identity verification, income evidence and a signed consent form permitting a credit check.
Confirm the guarantor's relationship to the applicant and their current address independently, rather than relying solely on the contact details the applicant provides. A guarantor should earn enough to cover the rent on top of their own commitments, not merely meet the same three-times-rent guideline as a sole tenant with no other obligations.
Put the guarantor's obligations in writing as part of the lease, not as a side agreement, so the commitment is enforceable and clearly understood by everyone before move-in.
Practical perspective for landlords with small portfolios
With one or two properties, speed matters as much as thoroughness. Prioritise identity, income and rental history checks first, since they filter out most unsuitable applicants quickly. Save a full credit and background check for your shortlist rather than every enquiry. Keep your criteria simple enough to apply consistently, and write down every decision: inconsistency, not a missed check, is usually what causes disputes later.
— Justknow
A verified rental marketplace can help with the heavy lifting
A structured, verified process is easier to run when the groundwork is built into the platform you use to list. We built Darava around that principle: identity and property verification for both sides, secure in-platform messaging so sensitive documents stay off open channels, and structured viewing requests that filter out time-wasting enquiries before they reach your inbox.
- Verified tenant and landlord identities reduce the risk of fake applicants.
- Secure messaging keeps payslips, ID copies and references out of unprotected email threads.
- Structured viewing requests mean you see the essentials before you commit to a showing.
Visit Darava Rentals to list a property or see how a verified marketplace fits into your screening process.
FAQ
What are red flags for tenants?
Unverifiable references, pay slips with inconsistent formatting, reluctance to sign a consent form, and a pattern of short, unexplained tenancies are among the clearest warning signs. A reference that cannot be confirmed against an independent contact number deserves particular caution.
What checks are required for tenants?
A sound process includes a signed application, identity verification, income verification against a common three-times-rent guideline, employment confirmation, a credit report from an NCR-registered bureau, and rental history or reference checks. Written consent must come before any credit or background check under POPIA.
What is the best background check for tenants?
There is no single best check: a credit report from a registered bureau, verified employment, and direct reference calls together give a far more reliable picture than any one check alone. The decisive reference question, whether a previous landlord would rent to the applicant again, consistently adds the most insight for the least effort.
What are some good questions to ask when screening potential tenants?
Ask about move-in date, household income, number of occupants, and reason for moving during the pre-screen call. During reference checks, ask how the reference is connected to the property, whether rent was paid on time, and whether they would rent to the applicant again.