Most landlords run a credit check, see a decent score, and feel pretty good about their applicant. We get it. Numbers feel objective. A 750 FICO looks like a safe bet.
But credit scores don’t tell you whether someone will let four friends move in without asking. They don’t tell you if the tenant left the last unit with holes in the walls, or whether they’ll ignore every maintenance request until a small leak becomes a $10,000 repair. For that, you need to call prior landlords. And more importantly, you need to know what to actually ask when you do.
This post is for rental property owners who are tired of vague answers from property management companies and want to understand what a real reference check looks like. We’ll cover what questions actually matter, what red flags sound like in practice, and why the reference conversation is the single most underrated part of the tenant placement process.
“$8,000–$15,000 | cost of a bad placement”
In This Guide
A Credit Score Tells You How Someone Pays Bills. A Reference Tells You How They Live.
Let’s be real about what credit checks actually measure. They track debt repayment behavior. That’s useful, but it’s a narrow window into someone’s life as a tenant.
A tenant with a 780 score can still trash a unit. They can still have three unauthorized occupants living in a one-bedroom apartment. They can still refuse to report a leaking pipe until water damage spreads through the ceiling below. We’ve seen it happen more than once.
A tenant with a 680 score and two solid, verifiable landlord references, on the other hand, is often a far safer bet. At $4,000 a month, which is roughly the going rate for a single-family home in Burbank right now, character and track record matter more than a three-digit number.
Reference checks fill the gap that credit reports leave open. But only if you actually do them properly.
The Most Common Way Landlords Waste a Reference Check
Most landlords who do call prior landlords ask one question: “Was this a good tenant?”
The previous landlord says “sure, yeah, no major issues.”
The call ends in four minutes. The landlord feels reassured. Tenant gets approved.
That four-minute call is nearly worthless. A coached reference or a friend posing as a landlord can clear that bar without breaking a sweat. And yes, this happens here. In a competitive L.A. market where $4,000/month rentals are common and applicants are highly motivated, some people will list a friend or family member as a “former landlord” knowing the owner will ask one polite question and move on.
In L.A. County, landlords sometimes list people they know as prior landlords. Before treating any reference as valid, cross-check the contact’s name against the property’s ownership history through the L.A. County Assessor’s office. It takes five minutes and can save you months of problems.
The fix isn’t complicated. It’s about asking follow-up questions that a coached reference won’t have clean answers to.
The Questions That Actually Surface Red Flags
The one question that separates real references from fake ones
Start with this: “Would you rent to this person again, without hesitation?”
Not “were they a good tenant.” Not “any major issues.” The phrase “without hesitation” forces a real answer. A coached friend will likely say yes immediately. But a real former landlord who had minor frustrations will often pause, soften, or hedge. That pause is information.
The follow-ups that do the real work
After that opening, keep going:
- Unauthorized occupants: “Did the tenant ever have unauthorized guests staying long-term, or anyone living there who wasn’t on the lease?” This is one of the most common issues in the greater L.A. area, particularly in expensive markets where people routinely double up on housing.
- Lease violations: “Were there any lease violations, even minor ones, during the tenancy?” A “yes” to anything here warrants a follow-up.
- Notice given: “Did they give proper notice before vacating, or did you have to chase them down?” This tells you about communication habits.
- Late payments: “Were rent payments consistently on time?” If a prior landlord mentions even one pattern of late payment across a 12-month tenancy, research suggests there’s a just-under-60% chance of repeat behavior. One month of late rent at $4,000 is $4,000. Two months is $8,000.
- Property condition: “How did they leave the property?” and “Would you say the unit was in the same condition as move-in, or was there damage beyond normal wear?”
The real information usually lives in the follow-ups, not the opening answer.
Call Two References, Not One
Here’s a mistake we see constantly. An owner calls one prior landlord, gets a positive response, and stops there.
Calling two prior landlords does something important. It creates a cross-reference. When Nicholas, our leasing agent, conducts reference calls for incoming applicants, he documents both conversations separately and looks for consistency. Inconsistent details between two references, different dates, different addresses, different stories about why the tenant left, are worth investigating before the lease gets signed.
One out-of-state owner managing both commercial and residential properties through us put it well. They couldn’t personally vet tenants from afar, so having structured reference calls documented through AppFolio gave them something to actually review, not just a “they’re approved” email with no context. That documentation makes a real difference when you’re not local.
Do It Fast. In L.A., Good Applicants Don’t Wait.
Reference verification should happen within 24 to 48 hours of receiving an application. This is not a suggestion. In a competitive market, a highly qualified tenant is likely applying to multiple units at the same time. Waiting three or four days to make calls means you risk losing a strong applicant while a weaker one stays in the pipeline by default.
We run a 3.0% vacancy rate across roughly 500 units in greater Los Angeles partly because the screening process moves quickly without cutting corners. Speed and thoroughness aren’t opposites. You just need a system.
Know Your Property’s Legal Status Before You Place Anyone
This part matters a lot locally and not enough owners know it.
Burbank is not subject to the City of Los Angeles Rent Stabilization Ordinance. But if your property was built more than 15 years ago — meaning before approximately 2011 as of today — it may fall under state rent control protections through AB 1482. Owners with questions about how the Burbank rent registry or the Burbank Tenant Protection Ordinance applies to their specific property should verify their status before placing a new tenant.
Why does this connect to references? Because removing a bad tenant from a rent-controlled unit is exponentially harder and more expensive than in an uncontrolled property. California eviction proceedings (unlawful detainer cases) typically take about 5 to 8 weeks from the initial notice to lockout for uncontested cases, or 3 to 6 months if the tenant contests the eviction. At $4,000 per month, that’s $4,000 to $12,000 in lost rent alone, before legal fees, repairs, and re-leasing costs. The owner who places the wrong tenant in a controlled unit and later tries to remove them is dealing with a problem that a solid reference check could have prevented entirely.
Getting the right tenant into a rent-controlled unit matters twice as much as in a standard rental. The cost of removing the wrong one, legally and financially, is far higher. References aren’t a formality here. They’re the actual filter.
What Section 8 References Should Look Like
Under California law (SB 329, effective 2020), landlords cannot refuse applicants based on source of income, including Housing Choice Vouchers. So Section 8 applicants go through the same screening process as any other applicant. Voucher status does not reduce the risk of property damage, unauthorized occupants, or lease violations.
Run the same reference questions. Ask the same follow-ups. The fact that rent is partially guaranteed through a local Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) program serving Burbank doesn’t change what prior landlords experienced with that tenant’s behavior on the ground.
What One Bad Placement Actually Costs
We worked with a first-time landlord who previously self-managed and placed a tenant based almost entirely on a credit score. No prior landlord reference calls. The tenant had a history of unauthorized occupants and left the unit with over $6,000 in damage. After transitioning to Posh, Anthony implemented a full reference verification process and that owner hasn’t had a repeat situation.
California caps security deposits at 1 month’s rent for unfurnished units (as of July 1, 2024), with a limited exception allowing up to 2 months’ rent for small landlords who own no more than two residential properties. On a $4,000/month Burbank rental, that’s $8,000. It sounds like a cushion, but it disappears fast when you factor in cleaning, repairs, lost rent during turnover, and re-leasing costs. The owners we work with who have had bad placements before moving to Posh almost always say the same thing: the damage wasn’t the worst part. The time was.
A bad tenant placement, start to finish, often runs $8,000 to $15,000 or more by the time it’s resolved.
When You’re Ready for a Better Process
One first-time landlord who reached out to us described feeling overwhelmed by vague answers and hidden fees from other companies. After talking with Anthony, they said the fee structure was explained clearly from the start with no surprises and no pressure. That’s how it should work.
If the reference process, or the whole tenant placement system, feels harder than it should, we’re open to a conversation.
FAQ
What is the most important question to ask a prior landlord reference?
Ask “Would you rent to this person again, without hesitation?” The word “without hesitation” matters. Vague positives from a coached reference hold up against soft questions. They often don’t hold up against that one.
Does Burbank have rent control, and how does it affect tenant placement?
Burbank is not covered by the L.A. Rent Stabilization Ordinance, but Properties built after February 1, 1995 may fall under AB 1482, California’s statewide rent control law, provided they are more than 15 years old — with that threshold applied on a rolling basis.. Owners should confirm their property’s status before placing a tenant, since removing a problem tenant from a controlled unit carries significant legal and financial costs.
Can I reject a Section 8 applicant if their reference check raises concerns?
Yes, but only based on their rental history and reference outcomes, not their voucher status. Under SB 329, source of income is a protected class in California. You can screen voucher holders using the same reference questions you’d ask for any applicant. Just make sure you’re documenting your decisions based on verifiable history, not payment source.
How many prior landlord references should I call?
Call at least two. One reference call is easy to fake. Calling two creates a cross-reference. Inconsistencies between two separate conversations, different dates, different move-out stories, are often where a falsified application unravels.
What if I can’t verify whether a reference is actually a prior landlord?
Cross-check the contact’s name against property ownership records through the L.A. County Assessor’s office. It’s a public database. If the person listed as “prior landlord” doesn’t appear as an owner or manager of that address, that’s worth a follow-up question before you proceed.
How quickly should reference checks happen after an application comes in?
Within 24 to 48 hours. In a competitive Los Angeles rental market, strong applicants are usually shopping multiple properties at once. A slow screening process loses good tenants and leaves you with whoever stuck around.