Managing Risk

Tenant Database Check

You’ve found your ideal tenant – or have you? In the rental property market, defaulting tenants are something that every landlord fears. What many landlords don’t realise is that there are ways to minimise their risk. A  lot like credit checks when applying for a loan or credit card, you can check the tenancy history of the applicants for your property.

Residential tenancy databases are privately owned commercial databases containing information about individual tenants’ rental histories. Because information held on such databases can have serious consequences in determining whether a person can secure rental accommodation, they are now regulated to ensure information is accurate and complete. Tenancy Databases are subject to the provisions in Part 5A of the Residential Tenancies Act 1995 (SA).

For a one-off fee, DIY Property Management clients can access tenant information from Australia’s largest defaulting tenant database giving you the best chance of not to choose a prospective tenant with a history of failing to adhere to their contractual obligations under their Tenancy Agreement. It is important that you understand how Tenancies Databases works and their limitations.

Licenced property managers subscribe to have access to the TICA database. If a tenant breaches the conditions set on their tenancy agreement, they can be listed on the database. It is each Property Manager responsibility to send the tenant’s information to TICA. Property Managers must provide supporting documentation of their claims before a tenant is included in the system. The implications of this is that a negative list (meaning that a person is not listed in the database) is not a 100% guarantee that their past tenancy record is impeccable.

The Property Manager might not have listed them or maybe their property manager is not even a TICA member themselves.Not being included in the TICA database is one more indication that the applicant might comply with their tenancy conditions, but it in no way is a substitute for the due diligence you must perform before accepting a tenant, including but not limited to checking their past rental history with current Property Managers by phone or contacting their employer to check on employment and income for example.

How does it work?

Order a Tenancy history Check

For only $19.95 per tenant, private landlords now have access to the National Tenant Database to let you know whether your prospective tenant has been registered as a defaulting tenant on a previous lease.

Please note that if you have a Rent Application with more than one person listed in the application, you will need to order one database check for each person that will be signing the Tenancy Agreement.

Send us your prospective tenant's details

You will probably receive more than one rent application. Instead of submitting all applicants, do your due diligence first. Contact past landlords and check employment details. When you have narrowed down to one or two applicants, submit the details of the best one to us.

You will need to email us the rent application with signed authorisation by the tenant to contact references and perform checks.

We will email the results back to you

You will receive a simple positive or negative result.  A negative result is a good result. It means your prospective tenant is not listed in the database. However, please remember you still must complete your due diligence and check their references.

A positive result means your prospective tenant has been listed in the database. In this case, we will send you the date of the listing and the reason they have been reported. This will come via email from us.

How to order your Tenant Database Check

  • Click on the button below to add a search to your shopping basket. 

  • Remember to update your basket to include more searches as required.

  • You will need one search for each applicant in your application form that will be responsible for the tenancy in the Lease Agreement.

Check your Tenant