When an owner decides to rent his home to a tenant, he is essentially handing over possession of an extremely expensive asset to someone who is, in most cases, a total stranger. It's smart for landlords to take whatever steps they can to protect both themselves and the houses they will get back at the end of the lease.

I recently attended a conference of landlords who were trying to keep their properties full and get their rents in the bank. Here are some of the recommended practices from that program:

• Know your applicant. One of the techniques that scammers use to move into a community is to steal someone else's credit and identity to rent a home. And unless you require photo identification from a trusted government agency, you really have no idea if the person handing you an application is actually who they claim to be. The "proof of identity" procedure has long been a staple of real estate closings, where the closing attorney asks all borrowers for a driver's license or passport, but asking for ID is a new twist in rentals. By photocopying the front of a driver's license, you not only have reasonable proof of identity, but you have information from the license itself that may help a collector find these folks later — if they should need to do so.

• Screen your applicant thoroughly. Confirm your applicant's employment by calling the main number for the company and asking for personnel. This way you avoid the trap of having the applicant provide you a phony number answered by his best friend. In addition, you should check with the current landlord to make sure your applicant has paid rent on time and given proper notice. One additional tip: check references with landlords further back than the applicant's current residence. The current landlord may be so anxious to see him leave, he may be tempted to give you a sugar-coated recommendation just to get rid of his problem.

• Examine your applicant's credit report. In the past year, Congress enacted legislation to make it more difficult for identity thieves to steal your credit. That's a good goal, but as a result, it is now impossible for small landlords to obtain credit histories. This is the case, even though the applicant has signed a form giving the landlord permission to see the report.

But there is a way around this dilemma. First, meet with your prospective tenant in any location featuring a wireless Internet connection, such as a Starbucks or a McDonald's. Bring your notebook computer with a wireless network adapter. Go to annualcreditreport.com. You can then require your applicant to enter the information necessary to obtain his free credit report immediately. And remember that this process needs to be repeated for each adult who will be living at your house.

• Follow the lead-based paint rules for landlords. If your house was built before 1978, federal law now requires all landlords to disclose known lead hazards to prospective tenants and provide them with a booklet entitled "Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home." The booklet and the disclosure form can be downloaded from my Web site at money99.com. Click on Written Resources, Free Documents, then Downloads. One of the best pieces of advice I heard at this conference was this: Do not try to explain lead-based paint hazards. It is a complex subject best left to experts. If a tenant asks for information, refer him to the National Lead Information Center at 1-800-424-5323.

• Observe smoke detector requirements for landlords. Georgia law requires landlords to have and maintain a working smoke detector on every habitable level of the dwelling being rented. This is one area where you don't want to make a mistake.

• Accept a security deposit only after the move-in inspection. Most landlords do this backward. You should get a check for earnest money equal to one month's rent with the application. If the application is accepted, use the earnest money as the first month's rent. Get a security deposit only after you have given the tenant a copy of the move-in inspection list of damages.

Failure to follow this procedure can prevent the landlord from being able to retain any portion of the security deposit, regardless of damages to the property.