Because appearances can be deceptive and landlords risk being taken for a ride, here are some warning signs of a bad tenant to watch out for: 

  1. The friend – Pay attention to the old adage that you should never do business with family or friends.  Your friend is not automatically a bad tenant, he is just a bad tenant for you.  Residential tenancy is a business and during the normal course of doing business, you will disagree from time to time.  When that happens it is easier for you to maintain your professionalism as a landlord if you do not have to worry about ruining a friendship. 
  2. The credit-check-maybes – You know that tick box at the end of the tenancy application form authorising you to carry out a credit check on the tenant applicant?  Ever noticed the ones who start dithering about when they come to that box?  Or the ones who ask you if a credit check is mandatory?  If a tenant applicant is awkward about a credit check, chances are they have something to hide.  “I usually ask them straight up – If I credit check you will I find something that will cause concern?” says Andrew Bruce, President of the Auckland Property Investors’ Association.  “Normally the first reaction tells me everything I need to know.”  
  3. The bond negotiators – Considering the process of bond lodgement is tightly regulated by the Residential Tenancies Act (that no more than 4 weeks’ rent can be collected unless otherwise agreed), and you have a tenant applicant who tries to negotiate you down, you really have to wonder about the size of his cash reserve. 
  4. Cash payers

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