Choosing a tenant should be based on information you can verify: income, employment, previous rental history, why the applicant is moving and who will live in the property.
At City-Lets, these are the main checks we use before recommending a tenant to a landlord.
Check Income and Affordability
Ask applicants for evidence of their income. For an employee, this can include recent payslips and confirmation of employment. Self-employed applicants may need to provide different financial documents.
At City-Lets, we generally look for the monthly rent to represent no more than around 25–30% of the applicant's gross monthly income. This is our screening guideline, not a legal requirement in Hungary.
If two people will be jointly responsible for the rent, their combined gross income can be considered.
Check Employment Stability
Ask how long the applicant has been in their current job and whether their employment is permanent, fixed-term or otherwise expected to continue during the proposed tenancy.
A fixed-term contract does not automatically make someone unsuitable. The relevant question is whether the applicant's expected income and employment period fit the tenancy they are applying for.
Speak to a Previous Landlord
If the applicant has rented before, ask for permission to contact a previous landlord or property manager.
Useful questions include:
- Did they pay the rent on time?
- How long did they stay?
- Why did they leave?
- Was the property returned in reasonable condition?
- Were there unpaid amounts when the tenancy ended?
- Where possible, confirm that the reference is actually from the previous landlord or property manager and speak to them rather than relying only on a written reference.
Someone renting for the first time should not automatically be rejected. Income, employment and other verifiable information become more important when there is no previous landlord to contact.
Ask Why They Are Moving
Ask why the applicant is moving, when they want to move in and how long they expect to remain in Budapest.
Someone working in Budapest on a two-year employment contract has different plans from a student expecting to finish university in six months. Neither is necessarily unsuitable, but the proposed tenancy period should match the applicant's plans.
Also confirm who will actually live in the apartment before preparing the tenancy agreement.
Discuss Pets Before Signing
Ask whether the applicant intends to keep a pet in the apartment.
At City-Lets, we normally require a security deposit equal to two months' rent. Where a tenant will keep a pet, we normally require three months' rent.
The pet and the landlord's agreement should be discussed before accepting the application and recorded in the tenancy agreement.
Use Information You Can Verify
A good conversation at a viewing does not replace checking the application.
Use identification, income and employment information and previous rental references when assessing an applicant. Apply the same screening process consistently rather than choosing someone simply because you personally like them.
Hungarian equal-treatment rules prohibit discrimination on protected grounds, so tenant selection should be based on factors relevant to the tenancy.
Tenant applications can also contain substantial personal information. Identification, payslips and employment documents should be handled as personal data rather than kept casually with ordinary property paperwork.
Put the Agreed Terms in Writing
Once the tenant has been selected, record the rent, payment date, deposit, tenancy period, occupants and any agreement concerning pets in the written tenancy agreement.
As Alex Markus of City-Lets explains:
“We check whether the applicant can afford the rent, verify their employment and rental history, and ask how long they plan to stay. A good first impression is useful, but it does not replace those checks.”
Check the income, verify the employment and previous rental history, understand the applicant's plans and put the agreed terms in writing before handing over the keys.