Know Your Paying Guest Before Letting Him In

By Author: Naman Vohra
Total Articles: 133
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Do you know anyone who lets out his house to few paying guests at a time? Have you yourself ever thought of renting a portion of house to a paying guest? do you know the difference between a paying guest and tenant.

In India, the term paying guest conveys the same meaning as the word tenant. Landlords in this country are often found to give out a whole house or portion of their house to one or multiple paying guests. When a landlord rents a portion of his house, he puts himself, his family and his property in grave danger. Similarly, when a landlord rents out his house located away from his residence, he is again faces grave risks.

It is hence advisable to be aware of a prospective paying guest’s background and past credentials. And, there are many instances that would realize the importance of such a step, one of them being the much reported Batla House encounter. L-18, Batla House was that infamous address which was rented out to five people who were discovered to be Indian Mujahideen terrorists. These terrorists were accused of having a role in the serial bomb blasts that had occurred in Delhi. Two of these ...
... individuals died in a police encounter at Batla House on 19th September 2008 while the care taker was later arrested.

Thus, whilst making an effort to collect relevant documents and information on the prospective paying guest, it will be better if these efforts are made all the more worthwhile by checking them for genuineness. Checking the documents will ensure authentic identity of the individual while checks on past addresses and present employment details will ensure that there is nothing fishy about his background. Further, a run through criminal and negative databases will make sure that the individual has not indulged in anything unlawful.

While deliberating on the verified information for taking the final call, landlords are often found to focus on the major findings about a prospective paying guest, thus, ignoring the minor ones. There are many issue that might be minor prima facie but eventually it turns out to be a menace. Behavioural issues, misuse or abusing landlord’s resources, stealing, late/non- payment of rent are few things that are a problem in their own right.

Requirement of checks within a verification process can vary as per the varied requirements of different landlords, ut the purpose of conducting verification through a professional remains the same. And, the purpose is to prove the authenticity of what the prospective paying guest states so that the risks attached to renting decisions are mitigated.

~Naman is associated with a leading retail background screening company that specializes in Tenant Verification