A good tenant is a tenant who pays the rent and pays it on time! When you have found a prospective tenant, either yourself or through a letting agency, it is usually a common practice to get a holding deposit from the potential tenanct in order to establish a level of commitment.

This is only first level of security by far though. Then you should try and find a credit reference agency to take up references on the prospective tenant. These references tend to cover employment, bank, previous Landlord and a consumer credit records (showing county court judgements) to make sure your tenant will be able to afford the rent. If you can not get in touch with these credit reference agencies yourself, it is always a good idea to use a reputable letting agency. Most of the good letting agencies in England tend to work with these reference agencies.

Individual circumstances, such as redundancy, can affect the tenants ability to pay the rent. Your letting agency can refer you to insurance companies that will give you total peace of mind by arranging to have your rent guaranteed. These schemes make sure that your income will be secure even if the rent is not paid. Please ask your agency for more information, some schemes are available at very little cost.