Tenancy Databases

I know there's been some discussion on this previously, but I just wanted everyone's opinions on tenancy screening databases.

- What are the main ones in Australia and biggest by state?
- Who is the best?
- Do they all provide the same service?

With all the legislation changes/requirements around blacklisting, does anyone even really do it properly anymore?

Thanks,

 

Forums guide on it is here: Tenancy Tip Thursday - Tenant Databases

Tica and NTD are the main ones. Which one is in front varies per city.

Some agencies use none, citing reasons such as :
- legislation makes it tough to list so therefore they probably don't so won't bother checking
- it costs too much
- listings only last 3 yrs
- "we do thorough enough background checks anyway"

I think that is negligent behavior and use both. It doesn't replace background checks, it supplements them. If you avoid 1 awful tenant that costs you 100 hrs of your time, that's 100 hrs you can spend keeping the good ones good.

 

Thanks D.T. - I guess I'm just trying to understand what the difference between TICA and NTD are?

I'd assume they'd have a point of differentiation other than providing the exact same service?

From your experience - do you find one better/more reliable than the other?

 

Hi James,

NTD is based in VIC and has a good following in Melbourne CBD, they give you the option to search prospective tenants and default bad tenants. That's about it. The also charge on a per search basis anywhere between $7-$14 which can be quite costly when you've already paid a membership fee and have a large or growing rent roll.

TICA is the largest tenancy database, and is Australia wide. You can search defaults and enquiries, blacklist bad tenants, as well as monitor your current and past tenants, search public records, warning letter systems and quite a few other useful tools. It really is more than just a search tool, its more of a risk management system, which is awesome.

Unless you are smack bang in the middle of Melbourne CBD, you're wasting your time with NTD. I've had a few peers within the industry make the switch from TICA to NTD after a big sales pitch from their reps. 6 months later they were back at TICA because they were not getting any search results from NTD and paying through the nose for it.

TICA is the best choice by far.

 

Thought I'd just send a follow-up on this after I did some extra digging.

From what I've discovered, NTD seems to have a much wider following in VIC & WA whereas TICA are larger in NSW & QLD.

I spoke to one of the salesmen from NTD who essentially told me that whilst their system is a tenant blacklist, they focus on a variety of different information they receive from the public record and Veda the credit bureau. This essentially was:
- ID Verification (verifies 100 points of ID and stops identity fraud)
- Blacklist & enquiry check
- Bankruptcy check
- Public data & court record check
- ASIC/directorship check

From having spoken to some friends in the industry, it seems that TICA has more blacklist information available but doesn't actually have access to this other information except for ID verification but they charge an additional $2.20 per search for this?. I'm still waiting to hear back from TICA regarding these questions and will keep everyone informed!

Can someone that uses both systems please clarify this as I'd really like to make an informed decision before signing up to either or both if I only require one.

 

James
we also use it to view what other properties a tenant has applied for, who else has done checks on them and sometimes it's a good idea to just ring another agency and say "why did you reject this application form" sometimes it's due to not being bothered to process it further and sometimes not.

also every now and then, tenants do come back years later and offer to pay down debt.

 

They just get a new defacto and they apply...and repeat.