Self-employed tenant paid in cash

[Hess Koo]

Hi all,

I'm newbie landlord and only have a single rental property. The property has been vacant for few months now and I haven't had a chance to find a good tenant yet.

I have a prospective tenant that is self employed (landscaper) which is paid by cash. I have asked for his past 3 months bank statements and past 2 years of tax return but based on those he doesn't have the enough income I'm looking for.

I talked to him over the phone and he claims majority of his income is in cash and he does not deposit those into the bank.

He has a wife and 3 kids and when I met them they seem like a good family. I did the background check and credit check for him and no red flags are there (his credit score is 688)

I know logically I should avoid renting to this tenant since I cannot really prove their income, but the house has been empty for some time and I'm in desperate mode! I'm  planning to talk with their previous rental management company to confirm they have paid their rent on time all the time and also get 2 months rent as deposit (which is the maximum allowable amount). Do you think this is safe enough to rent to them? Anything else that I can do other than just rejecting them?

Thanks all in advance