The short answer
Contact a verified former housing provider through a reliable channel and ask factual questions about the tenancy. Treat references as one source of information, with room for errors, missing history and disputes.
On this page
Verify the contact
Cross-check the contact information with a reliable independent source where practical. A supplied number may belong to a friend, a former employee or someone without access to the records. Explain your purpose and follow applicable consent and privacy requirements.
Confirm the applicant's permission and any required authorization for this request before disclosing their application details. Identify the tenancy and intended recipient, verify the respondent's name, role and period of responsibility, and ask whether they can consult the relevant records. Use an independently found business channel where practical; matching a telephone number alone does not establish identity or record access.
Agree a brief call or written verification at a suitable time. Explain the limited rental facts requested and ask about permitted follow-up. Do not record the conversation without checking applicable consent requirements. Use the contact-verification guide and the call worksheet.
Ask factual questions
Ask the dates of tenancy, agreed rent and whether the records show unpaid obligations or documented property issues. Distinguish records from opinion. Avoid questions that invite discussion of protected characteristics or personal matters unrelated to the tenancy.
- Record coverage: which rental and tenancy dates can you confirm, and what period did you manage?
- Account facts: for the relevant reviewed period, what does the ledger show, including agreed changes, credits or unresolved disputes? Request only necessary authorized information.
- Move-out condition: what dated condition evidence is available, and does it distinguish damage from ordinary wear?
- Lease responsibilities: which documented obligation or incident is relevant, what was actually recorded and how was it resolved? For shared areas or landscaping, confirm the lawful responsibility before asking about its completion.
- Limits and corrections: what cannot be verified, and is there a factual correction or permitted follow-up needed?
Record the source and limitations of each answer. Do not convert a complaint, disputed balance, willingness-to-rent-again opinion or short tenancy into a finding or prediction. Keep repair reports, accommodation requests and other protected activity separate from unsupported misconduct allegations.
Resolve differences
If the reference conflicts with the application, ask for clarification and consider the applicant's evidence. A landlord's refusal to respond does not itself establish a problem. Keep factual notes and apply your lawful criteria consistently.
Keep unrelated personal questions out of the call
Use only necessary rental facts within the locally reviewed process. Do not ask about race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status or disability, or invite medical, family or unrelated personal information. HUD describes the federal fair-housing protections; check additional state, local and program requirements separately. Handle an assistance-animal or accommodation matter through the applicable process rather than asking a former landlord to discuss disability details.
Handle unavailable records and third-party reports separately
Mark no response, missing records, unverified contact and disputed information accurately. They are different conditions. Limited or absent rental history does not itself establish a problem. Explain the unresolved factual question and follow the property's reviewed, consistent process for permitted alternatives or clarification. An alternative contact can confirm only facts within their own knowledge. Use the unavailable-reference guide and the factual reference-letter guide.
The FTC identifies reference-checking service reports as consumer reports. Permissible-purpose and adverse-action requirements need separate review when such a report influences a housing decision, even partly. Personal-interview investigative reports can carry additional requirements. Calling it a reference does not remove those obligations. See the consumer-report notice guide; Rentari software does not verify a reference or make the lawful decision merely because a note is saved.
Your next-step checklist
- Verify the contact channel
- Ask about documented tenancy facts
- Separate opinion from evidence
- Give discrepancies a fair review
Sources and further reading
Common questions
Which questions belong in a previous-landlord reference check?
Ask which rental, dates and period the respondent can verify, what relevant records show, and what limitations or factual disputes remain. Keep information necessary and authorized; opinions about character or future reliability are not verified rental facts.
How can I verify who answered the reference request?
Cross-check a reliable independent business contact where practical, confirm the respondent's role and tenancy-record coverage, and record remaining uncertainty. A supplied telephone number or a confident answer alone does not establish authority.
What if a former landlord does not respond?
Record the attempts and actual unavailable information, then follow the reviewed process for clarification or permitted alternatives. No response or little rental history does not itself establish a problem. An alternative source can confirm only what it actually knows.
Written and maintained by the Rentari team. Examples explain a decision; they are not customer results. Found an error or an unclear step? Send a correction with this page's address and the detail to review.
Your next step
Request and review a screening report