Lettings expert, Legal 4 Landlords, has released a self-titled application for the iPhone (and iPod touch) that helps landlords gather information on prospective tenants in the UK, and specifically, if they've previously been listed as tenants from hell in the past.

The app accesses the firm's extensive database which contains thousands of details of tenants who have previously left property damage, been evicted for unpaid rent, or other caused problems for other landlords.

Legal 4 Landlords (the app) is completely free to use, but it obviously touts the company's other services throughout, such as its "no trace, no fee" former tenant tracing, and there's further advice to hand on other tenancy legalities and issues you may be be having.

Sim Sekhon, director at Legal 4 Landlords, explains why the need for the app: “We’re approached on a daily basis by landlords wanting to do a quick background check on a prospective tenant. These checks can take time, so we thought it made perfect sense to develop an App which will do this in seconds.

“Unpaid rent in the UK currently amounts to £276 million so landlords need to know if they can trust the tenant they are about to take on.”

Naturally, use of the app is covered by the UK's data protection act.