Expert Insights on Tenant Screening in Auckland: What Landlords Should Consider

What Auckland landlords actually need to know about screening tenants

Picking a tenant is the single biggest decision you'll make about your rental. Get it right and you might not hear from the property for years. Get it wrong and you're looking at rent arrears, a Tenancy Tribunal application and a property that needs work before it can go back on the market.

The tricky part is that screening in New Zealand has changed. The Privacy Commissioner released specific guidance for the rental sector and a lot of the questions landlords used to ask as a matter of course are now off the table. Plenty of private landlords are still using application forms written before any of that came in.

Here's where things stand.

Ask for less than you think you can

The Privacy Commissioner's position is that you only collect what you actually need and only at the point you need it. That means at the initial application stage you're limited to the basics: name and contact details, proof of identity, confirmation the applicant is over 18 and how many people will be living at the property.

You can also ask about pets and smoking, but only if there are restrictions at that property. If the tenancy is fixed-term, you can ask whether they have the legal right to remain in New Zealand for the length of it.

What you can't ask about: relationship or family status, religion, political views, ethnicity, disability or illness, or age beyond confirming they're an adult. You also shouldn't be asking for employment history (current employment is fine), social media profiles, or bank statements showing how someone spends their money.

That last one catches people out. Wanting to know a tenant can afford the rent is reasonable. Reading through three months of their transactions is not.

Proving they can pay

You're entitled to evidence someone can meet the rent. A credit report plus one other form of proof is the accepted standard — payslips, a letter from an employer or Work and Income, or a record of rent paid in a previous tenancy.

Credit checks and criminal record checks both need written consent and the guidance is clear that you should only be running them once you're actually negotiating an offer with that applicant. Not on everyone who turns up to the open home.

References are still the best signal

Nothing in a credit file tells you what someone is like to rent to. A previous landlord will.

Ring them. Ask whether rent was paid on time, how the property was left, whether there were complaints from neighbours and — the question that gets the most honest answer — whether they'd rent to that person again. If you're offered a mobile number for a "previous landlord" that turns out to be the applicant's mate, you'll usually work it out within thirty seconds of the call.

It's also worth searching Tenancy Tribunal orders on tenancy.govt.nz. Decisions are public and a history of arrears or damage orders will show up there, though it is important to note that some orders have name suppression and if they have recently had issues or been evicted it likely won’t show up yet.

Treat everyone the same way

Discrimination in tenancy isn't just a bad look, it's unlawful under the Human Rights Act. The protections cover race, sex, family status, disability, age, religious belief and employment status, including whether someone receives a benefit.

The practical protection here is process. Use the same application form, ask the same questions, apply the same criteria and write down why you chose the applicant you chose. If a decision is ever challenged, a consistent process is what you'll be relying on.

Also worth knowing: applicants can request the personal information you hold on them and you need to be able to produce it. Which is a good reason not to keep informal notes you wouldn't want read back to you.

Where a property manager fits in

Screening is time-consuming and the compliance side of it has become genuinely technical. That's the main reason a lot of Auckland landlords hand it over.

A property manager will already have access to credit reporting, a reference-checking process that's been run hundreds of times and application forms that reflect current privacy guidance rather than something copied off the internet in 2018. They're also doing this at volume, which means they've seen the patterns — the reference that doesn't quite stack up, the story that shifts between the viewing and the application.

A workable process

If you're doing it yourself, keep it simple and keep it consistent:

• Collect only the basics on the application form
• Get written consent before running any credit or criminal record check
• Get the tenant to supply evidence of ability to pay rent. Don’t specify exactly what method this should be, but use examples such as a payslip, employer letter or Work and Income confirmation.
• Phone at least two references, including the most recent landlord
• Search the Tenancy Tribunal database
• Record your reasoning for the applicant you selected

Six steps, done the same way every time.

The bottom line

Good screening isn't about digging up everything you can find on someone. It's about asking a narrow set of the right questions, verifying the answers properly and treating every applicant the same. Do that and you'll pick good tenants without exposing yourself to a privacy or discrimination complaint along the way

If you'd rather not manage it yourself, that's what we do. Get in touch with the team at Rent House and we'll take it from here.