I am not comfortable answering questions from another landlord about a former tenant. It seems to me that the former tenant could claim that giving out information about him is a violation of his right to privacy.
Understandably a landlord respects an individual’s right to privacy and confidentiality of personal information, but at the same time a prospective landlord has the right to conduct adequate and necessary business screenings as a duty of care to his tenants for their safety and security.
A landlord calling you to verify his applicant’s past rental history has the right to ask relevant questions for tenant screening purposes in order to determine whether the applicant poses a potential business risk if selected as a new tenant. Keep in mind that the landlord calling you has been furnished information about past rental history from the applicant himself. The applicant has been made aware of and consents to the prospective landlord checking references.
Your obligation is to provide factual business information in response to questions that are asked by the landlord as part of his business practices. You should not volunteer information or gossip about the former tenant. Information that you provide, such as dates of tenancy, should be documented items of record in the former tenant’s file and which you can attest to the accuracy and truthfulness of the information.