Finding a Good Tenant (Without Getting Scammed) | First Door

Finding a Good Tenant (Without Getting Scammed)

If you've got an empty rental property, your first instinct is to get someone in there fast. But rushing this step is how you end up with a nightmare tenant.

How to Find Someone Reliable

Finding a good tenant in New Zealand isn't just about putting a listing on Trade Me and waiting. You need to do the hard yards:

  • Check their ID: Make sure they are who they say they are with a driver licence or passport.
  • Call previous landlords: Don't just call their current landlord. If they're a bad tenant, the current landlord might lie just to get them out of the house. Always try to speak to the landlord before the current one.
  • Do a credit and background check: Make sure they have a history of paying their bills on time. A good rule of thumb is that their income should comfortably cover the rent with enough left over for living expenses.

The DIY Headache

Doing this yourself takes a lot of time. You'll spend your evenings replying to hundreds of messages online, and your weekends running open homes for people who might not even show up. Even worse, if you don't know what to look for, it's easy to be fooled by fake references or mates pretending to be former landlords.

The Legal Minefield of Discrimination: Under New Zealand law, it is illegal to turn down a tenant based on race, age, gender, sexual orientation, family status, or whether they receive a benefit. If you ask the wrong question during a viewing or decline an applicant for the wrong reason, you can end up in serious hot water with the Human Rights Commission or the Tenancy Tribunal, facing massive fines.

Why You Should Use a Property Manager

Why do this yourself? At First Door, we use our RTA compliant criteria checklist to find tenants who pay on time and treat your house right. We are experts in the Residential Tenancies Act, ensuring every step of the selection process is 100% legal and discrimination-free. We handle the viewings, the background checks, and the awkward "no"s.

Get 3 months management fee free when you switch to us.