I am new to this Open Rent site but have been using AirBNB for over 5 years.
One question if I rent out my whole house on AirBNB are the guests classed as lodgers or tenants?
Anyway back to the main topic I have a potential guest and his wife who have just moved from Hong Kong to the UK and don’t have any references or a credit score but they are living in Manchester in a Serviced Apartment.
I am a little be apprehensive however he said he could pay 6 months up front.
I am going to meet him on Sunday however I am thinking I should phone him before we meet as it involves a 3 hour round trip plus an hour for the viewing and it is causing the current AirBNB guest a bit of stress as they will need to be away from the house for an hour and obviously bit concerned about their stuff in the house.
Their tenancy status is based on the facts of their occupation rather than the platform they rented through or even rather than the agreement type they’re given. Unless the tenant is genuinely on holiday, (which is very easy for a court to decide), then they’re likely to be AST tenants unless there is a resident landlord. There may be exceptions if the property is genuinely a serviced apartment or similar.
Sorry, I missed your other question. I wouldn’t bother with a credit check in this case as it won’t turn up anything useful. If he’s a serious prospect you will have to diy it by:
checking his employment contract and salary
checking how much savings he has
checking the last 6 months bank and credit card statements
contacting with any landlord in Hong Kong
etc
As this is very personal data, make sure you give him your GDPR privacy notice before you request it and promise to destroy all copies of the documents, (except passport) as soon as you’ve made the decision.
Six months rent up front is not that useful in these days where it is likely to take at least 18 months to evict someone. However, if you do it, make sure its recorded in the contract as 6x1 monthly payments and specify the periods covered.