Unqualify tenant based on unsure rental history?

[Lucky Tran]

Hi All,

I am a newbie on BP and find the forum a good wealth of information. Was hoping I can get some advice or opinion on my current situation.

I have a couple that submitted a rental application and based on that application, met the requirements of monthly income 3x monthly rent. Their application was completed in full, so next step - verifying references and rental history.

Upon calling previous landlords for rental history, it turns out that the history may be unreliable. Either the lease was not under their name or they paid the person who the lease was under. I was able to get information (yes/no) to the questions when asking about rental history but feel that it doesn't pertain to the current applicant. Some of these questions answered were red flags - but to keep in mind, the lease was not under this tenant's name.

Because of the information I've gathered on this couple for rental history, I stopped there and didn't even consider in calling their listed personal references.

Is it enough information to justify my inkling to unqualify the tenant?

Thanks in advance for your help!