A prior landlord reference is a structured contact between the screening party and a landlord who has previously rented to the tenant. The contact is initiated with the tenant’s consent and with contact details the tenant has supplied. The reference is voluntary on the part of the prior landlord; the landlord can decline to respond, or can respond in whatever level of detail they choose. The reference adds substance to the Ejari record, which establishes that the tenancy occurred without speaking to how it went.
The tenant, in the course of submitting to the screen, supplies the contact details of one or more prior landlords. The tenant is asked to consent to outreach to those landlords. With consent in place, the verifier reaches out — typically by email, with a telephone follow-up where the email does not produce a response — identifying themselves, identifying the screening engagement, and requesting that the prior landlord answer a short set of structured questions.
The contact is not anonymous. The prior landlord knows who is asking and why. The tenant has consented to the outreach. There is no element of investigation by stealth.
The questions are bounded. Did the tenancy conclude as expected? Was the rent paid on time, or were there difficulties? Was the property returned in good condition? Would you, on the basis of your experience, rent to this tenant again? The questions are closed; the prior landlord can answer with brief comment if they wish.
The questions do not extend to the tenant’s personal life, their household composition, their occupation, or any other matter outside the conduct of the tenancy. The scope is the scope of the relationship the prior landlord had with the tenant.
A positive response — that the tenancy concluded well, the rent was paid on time, the property was returned in good condition, and the prior landlord would rent again — is a strong corroborating signal. It is consistent with the Ejari record showing the registered tenancy and with whatever other components of the screen point in the same direction.
A mixed response — that, for instance, the tenancy concluded as expected but with occasional payment difficulties — is information the landlord should weigh. The response does not, on its own, recommend declining the tenant. It is one factor among the screen’s components.
A negative response — that the tenancy concluded poorly, or that the prior landlord would not rent to the tenant again — is a material signal. It warrants the receiving landlord’s close attention. The response is read together with the rest of the screen and with any context the tenant provides through their own statement or otherwise.
No response, despite reasonable attempts to reach the prior landlord, is not a negative signal. It is an absence. The screen records that the prior landlord was contacted and did not respond, and the file notes that the rental history component is therefore based on the Ejari record alone.
A first-time tenant in the UAE, or a tenant whose prior tenancies are not easily contactable, may supply no prior landlord details. The screen records this and proceeds with the rental history component based on Ejari registrations only. The absence of prior landlord references is not, of itself, adverse; it reflects circumstances rather than conduct.
A prior landlord reference is one party’s account of a tenancy that has concluded. It is not a court record. It is not a sworn statement. It is a structured account given voluntarily. The screen records it as what it is: the prior landlord’s response to specific questions, on a specific date. The screen does not represent the response as something it is not. Where a response is unusually negative and the tenant disputes it, the dispute is noted in the file. The receiving landlord sees both the response and the dispute.
Where a response is unusually positive and seems disproportionate to other components of the screen, the appropriate response is to weigh the components in proportion to their evidentiary basis: the reference is one voice; the file is the chorus.
Related pages: Ejari history, what a tenant screen includes, the limits of screening.