With the way that the cities in India are rapidly growing, Landowners (LO) never really know who is coming as a tenant to their home.

The person could be from the same city, same state, a different state, or even a different country. When the tenant doesn’t come through a reference, especially one from a reliable person, it is difficult to trust tenants at face value?

It’s also important to note that landowners could be held responsible for not verifying tenants, especially if they are involved in any criminal activity. Therefore, it’s always better to verify tenants.

This verification is to be done by the landowner before signing a Rental Agreement with the tenant.

Here are a few ways in which Landowner verifies the tenant-

1. Police Verification

It is typically the mandatory responsibility of the property owner to share the relevant tenant details with the police and get a clearance certificate for the same.

In Bengaluru for instance, landlords can download the tenant’s police verification application form from the Karnataka State Police website. To avail of this service, one must be a resident of the city and the address to be checked (e.g., The former address of the prospective tenant) should also be in Bangalore.

If there is a foreign national, then you can get a Police Clearance Certificate (PCC) that is meant for Foreign Nationals. There is also a Police Clearance Certificate (PCC) for Indian Citizens.

2. External Agencies

Certain companies will perform a background check for landowners as they specialise in doing verification for businesses and landlords.

They have a checklist wherein they will talk to the old landlord, neighbors, the company they work for, etc. Once they have gone through the entire checklist, they will provide you with a complete report. They will cover basics like a criminal check, address check, and identity check. Reference checks and credit checks can also be conducted on request by these agencies.

3. Self-Verification

Landowners can do a small check on the prospective tenant on their own as well. This would require a bit of time, but not so much effort.

As a landowner would need a government identification document for the Rental Agreement, LO can use this as a primary means to cross-check the tenant.

LO can ask for references in the city or if the individual is new to the city, they can provide ones from the city they come from. LO can check with the company they work in; if they work for a reputed company or MNC the HR is sure to have done a background check. It’s also a good idea to talk to the tenant’s previous landlord to get a clear picture of what kind of tenant to expect. Credit checks and criminal checks might be a little tougher to do for the landowner on their own.