Choosing the wrong tenant is one of the most expensive mistakes a private landlord can make. Lost rent, property damage, and lengthy tribunal processes can cost $5,000–$20,000 or more. The good news: most bad tenancies are preventable with the right screening process upfront.
What to Check Before Signing a Lease
A thorough tenant screen covers four areas:
- Identity verification — confirm the person is who they say they are
- Income verification — confirm they can actually afford the rent
- Document consistency — names, employer details, and dates should all line up
- Tenancy history — references from previous landlords
The Income Benchmark
A widely used rule of thumb: rent should not exceed 30% of the tenant's gross monthly income. So for a $2,000/month property, you want a tenant earning at least $6,667/month gross ($80,000/year).
Always ask for at least two recent payslips — one payslip can be cherry-picked. Two shows consistency.
Red Flags to Watch For
- Payslip employer name doesn't match the ID name
- Inconsistent income across two payslips (more than 20% variation without explanation)
- PDF payslips that look edited or have unusual fonts
- Reluctance to provide ID or payslips — legitimate tenants don't hesitate
- Income that seems high for the stated role or employer
NZ-Specific Considerations
Under the Residential Tenancies Act 1986, landlords cannot discriminate on the basis of race, religion, gender, disability, or family status. Screening must be based on financial capacity and tenancy history only.
You can request ID and proof of income as part of your standard application process — this is legal and standard practice.
How AI Is Changing Tenant Screening
Manually checking payslips is time-consuming and easy to fool. AI-powered tools like RentVetted analyse documents in seconds — verifying the name match between ID and payslips, extracting income figures, and flagging inconsistencies that the human eye would miss.
At $49 per report, it's cheaper than one hour of a property manager's time — and it catches things they'd miss too.