How to Vet Tenants with Pre-Viewing Questions

Finding reliable and responsible tenants is one of the most important steps in the process of renting out your property.

Pre-viewing questions can help you get a clearer picture of who is interested before you arrange viewings. They give you useful context about their situation and help you judge whether they are likely to be a good fit for your property.

To make the process easier, OpenRent allows you to set up pre-screening questions so you can filter enquiries and focus on tenants who are more suitable.

1. Vetting tenants with OpenRent
2. What questions should you ask prospective tenants?
3. Can you ask applicants how long they’re looking to stay in the property?
4. Don’t forget to confirm the details in the advert
5. What you should leave to professional referencing checks

Vetting tenants with OpenRent

To help you find the right tenant more efficiently, OpenRent offers a pre-screening feature that lets you ask applicants key questions before arranging a viewing.

When someone shows interest in your property, they are asked to respond to questions based on your listing criteria, such as whether they are a student or if they are a smoker.

Only applicants who meet your basic requirements are able to proceed to request a viewing, helping you filter out unsuitable enquiries early on and save time for both sides.

You can then carry out a full assessment through our tenant referencing checks, which give you a detailed overview of the applicant and any guarantor.

What questions should you ask prospective tenants?

We asked experienced OpenRent landlords what they usually check before progressing with an application, and a few common themes came up.

Here are some of the most useful questions to ask early on:

• Can you provide references from a previous landlord or employer? (Professional references remain the gold standard for verifying conduct).
• What is your preferred move-in date? (Very important for planning your transition periods).
• How many people are planning to live in the property? (Essential for ensuring you don’t breach HMO licensing or overcrowding rules).
• The rent is £xxx. How do you plan to cover it? (This now includes a mix of regular job income, freelance work, savings, or government benefits – all must be considered fairly).
• What is your total annual household income? (To ensure tenants are able to cover the rent comfortably).
• Can you provide a UK-based guarantor if required? (With rent in advance now capped at one month, guarantors are more important than ever for security).

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• How Much Notice Does a Tenant Have to Give a Landlord to Move Out?
• Holding Deposit, Tenancy Deposit, Rental Fees: Everything You Need to Know
• How Can I Attract More Tenants to My Property Listing?

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Can you ask applicants how long they’re looking to stay in the property?

Yes, you can certainly ask prospective tenants about their intended length of stay during the vetting process. While the Renters’ Rights Act has abolished fixed-term contracts, understanding a tenant’s plans is still a important part of finding a match for your property.

However, there is a significant legal distinction to keep in mind: intent is not a binding commitment. 

Because all tenancies are now rolling periodic agreements, a tenant has the statutory right to give 2 months’ notice at any time – even if they initially told you they planned to stay for several years. 

You cannot legally “lock” a tenant into a minimum term, and any clause in a tenancy agreement attempting to do so is void.

How OpenRent helps

To help with this, OpenRent adverts include a “Preferred Minimum Tenancy” field where you can set out your ideal timeframe, such as 12 months.

When tenants view your listing, they can see this preference upfront. It helps attract applicants whose plans are more likely to align with a longer stay.

It’s worth noting that this is for guidance only and is not legally binding. Under the Renters’ Rights Act, tenancies are open-ended by default and Section 21 is no longer available. Even if a tenant agrees that they intend to stay for 12 months, they still retain the right to leave earlier by giving the required notice.

Using this field alongside clear screening questions about a tenant’s plans can help you focus on applicants who are more likely to suit your preferred length of tenancy, which can support longer-term stability in a periodic rental market.

Don’t forget to confirm the details in the advert

It’s a good idea to ask applicants to confirm the key details from your advert upfront. In busy markets like London, tenants often apply quickly and may not check every detail, so this helps you avoid spending time on enquiries that are not a good fit.

If your listing includes specific conditions, such as whether pets are allowed or certain features, you can include questions that prompt applicants to confirm these points. 

OpenRent can do this automatically if you enable Default Screening, or you can ask them yourself.

Here are some useful questions to include:

• The property is un/furnished. Is this suitable for you?
• Do you or anyone you’re applying with smoke?
• Do you or anyone you’re applying with have any pets?
• Are you or anyone you’re applying with a student?
• Do you require parking?
• Do you need access to a garden?

Avoiding blanket bans

Under the Renters’ Rights Act, you can no longer apply blanket bans to applicants, for example those receiving benefits or families with children.

You now need to assess each applicant on their individual circumstances, focusing on affordability and suitability for the property rather than their personal situation or source of income.

If you are using OpenRent to advertise your properties, our platform is designed to reflect these requirements. It includes built-in safeguards and prompts to help keep your listing and screening approach aligned with the current rules.

This means you can focus on finding the right tenant, while the system helps you stay on the right side of the regulations, without any effort on your part!

What you should leave to professional referencing checks

It’s easy to fall into the trap of asking lots of detailed questions, but pre-screening should not replace proper referencing checks. Its role is simply to filter enquiries and make sure those attending a viewing are broadly suitable.

Now that options like taking rent in advance are no longer available, referencing is one of the main ways you can assess risk and choose a reliable tenant.

It’s usually best to leave more in-depth checks to professional referencing services, including questions such as:

• Do you have any CCJs?
• What is your credit score?
• Have you ever been evicted?
• Have you had issues with rent arrears in the past?
• Do you earn more than three times the rent?
• Do you have any unspent convictions?

OpenRent offers both quick and comprehensive referencing checks for tenants and their guarantors at a low cost. 

These reports give you a clear view of financial standing, credit history and overall risk, helping you make informed decisions with confidence.

Final thoughts

When using pre-screening, it’s important to keep the process fair, relevant and respectful. 

The aim is to gather useful information that helps you assess suitability, not to overcomplicate or discourage genuine applicants.

A balanced approach also sets the right tone from the start. Clear, professional communication helps build trust and makes the renting process smoother for both you and your prospective tenants.

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