How to vet a tenant before signing the lease
A good tenant pays on time and looks after the apartment; a bad choice can cost months of stress. Here is how to size up a candidate without turning the meeting into an interrogation.
Contents
Why vet in advance
Ending a residential lease at the landlord’s initiative is not easy in Armenia. Under the Civil Code it goes through the courts and only on specific grounds — for example, if the tenant has failed to pay more than twice after the due date or has damaged the apartment (Article 675). Eviction after termination also requires a court decision (Article 676).
That makes it far easier and cheaper to choose a reliable tenant from the start than to fix problems later.
The first call: questions that save time
- Who will live there: how many people, any children or pets
- For how long they need the apartment and from what date
- Where they work or study
- Why they are leaving their current place
- Whether they are ready for a contract, a deposit and paying in advance
Calm, specific answers are a good sign. Evasiveness, pressure (“I need to move in today, I’ll pay later”) and reluctance to sign a contract are reasons to be careful.
Documents and identity
Before signing, ask for a passport or ID card and check the details against what the person told you. You will need the passport details for the contract anyway. If the tenant has come from abroad, ask how long they plan to stay in Armenia — that determines the length of the lease.
If a company is renting for an employee, ask for the company’s details and a document confirming the signatory’s authority. Note that when the tenant is a company or an individual entrepreneur, it usually withholds the tax on the rent as a tax agent.
- the name on the passport or ID card matches the name in your messages
- there is a working phone number and, ideally, a contact for the previous landlord
- the source of income is clear: a job, studies, own business
- every adult who will live in the apartment is named and willing to be listed in the contract
- the person agrees to the deposit and to paying the first month before getting the keys
Treat the viewing as an interview
Meet at the apartment in person. Watch how the candidate looks around: if they ask about meters, heating and house rules, they most likely plan to live carefully and stay a while.
Don’t hesitate to go over the rules upfront: smoking, pets, guests, noise. Under the Civil Code, the tenant is answerable to the landlord for the actions of people living with them permanently and of temporary residents (Articles 668 and 669). Still, it is better for the tenant to know your expectations from day one than to hear about them in a complaint.
The contract as part of the check
How a candidate reacts to the contract is a test in itself. Send them the draft in advance and ask them to read it before you meet. If they ask about the clauses on the deposit, repairs and notice period, they take renting seriously. If they ask you to “keep it simple” and skip the paperwork, keep looking.
List every adult who will live in the apartment in the contract or an annex to it. That way it is clear from day one who lives there and whose actions the tenant is answerable for.
Red flags
- Offers six months upfront in cash, but without a contract
- Asks you not to state the real number of occupants in the contract
- Wants to sublet — by the night or room by room
- Rushes you and doesn’t want to see the apartment in daylight
- Can’t name either a workplace or a previous address
On subletting: a tenant may sublet the apartment only with the landlord’s consent (Civil Code, Article 673). If you are against it, state the ban explicitly in the contract.
How to choose and how to say no
If you have several suitable candidates, compare them on the same criteria: lease length, number of occupants, readiness for a contract and deposit, the previous landlord’s opinion. Choose not the most charming candidate but the most predictable one.
You can decline briefly and politely: it is enough to say you have chosen another tenant. There is no need to explain your reasons in detail — that keeps the conversation calm and keeps you out of an argument.
Key takeaways
- A tenant can only be evicted through the courts, so choose carefully from the start.
- Ask the key questions on the first call: who, for how long, what income.
- Check the passport and get the previous landlord’s opinion.
- Agree on guests, pets and smoking before signing.
- Subletting is only allowed with your consent — make that explicit in the contract.
