New tenant form aimed at reducing utility fraud
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The city has introduced a new form to prove a tenant’s identity, in order to prevent fraudulent utility applications in North Battleford.
Before this change, anyone was able to apply for utilities for any home and be approved. However, if the applicant had poor credit, a deposit can be levied for $175. This was causing people with poor credit looking to rent have family or friends with good credit apply for the home instead. The city said it became a problem when the actual tenants didn’t pay the bill for months and the home owner was unaware of delinquency.
According to the city, this is another step in trying to protect landlords. Back in October, 2016 council decided to inform landlords of delinquent payments after two months, as opposed to four. By the time utilities were shut off after four months, the home owners were forced to pay a roughly $450 bill. Since the actual tenants weren’t the ones who applied for the utilities, they were completely off the hook and free to do it all over again.
This new proof of identity form will also allow the city and landlords the ability to track individuals who ditch payments and leave them for landlords to pay.
