To think this is shit way of letting out a flat

[HeadsDownThumbsUp]

A friend of mine and her DP are having a difficult time finding accommodation. They relocated here recently and their short-term lease - which was supposed to tide them over until they found an appropriate rental property - is coming to an end.

Yesterday they went to view a flat which was perfect for them in every way, and easily affordable. Normal procedure would normally be to have the tenant put down a holding deposit (first come, first served) and then, pending checks and references, sign the lease. This letting agent demanded that all couples write an email explaining their circumstances and basically beg for the flat. The selected tenants then have the privilege of paying a holding deposit. She wrote an effusive email which outlined their employment situation and so on. I can't think of anything which would adversely affect their 'application' but they weren't chosen, and she's very disappointed.

Is this just me, or is this a mental way to let out a flat. It's a rental property. Surely, if you have an adequate income and can pass basic credit checks etc then you should be entitled to put down a holding deposit and enter into a lease agreement. It doesn't seem fair or transparent. Though it's a peripheral concern, it also seems to invite corruption. I can understand a private landlord letting to a preferred couple - but a letting agency? Surely their procedures should be more professional.

With so more and more people relying on private rented accommodation surely this sort of practise shouldn't really be acceptable.

Thoughts?

[RenterNomad]

I've been through an "interview" ("informal chat" with LL), but at least that had the possibility of being two-way (unfortunately, we we were desperate), not least because we got to see the LLs' house. It did set a very cold tone for our relationship, though, and this incredibly one-sided "selling oneself" letter sounds even worse. Will they make themselves available for repair requests?!

[HeadsDownThumbsUp]

I agree that fcfs isn't really "fair" either. But she took time out of work to view this property, and she wouldn't have done so if she knew that securing the lease was going to be a lottery.

Maybe the ll didn't want to rent to someone who was about to have a baby
I find this comment surprising. Are women of child bearing age to be discriminated against in the rental market now, as well as the job market? Tbh, if you find the idea of letting a flat to a family (or, you know, humans) abhorrent, then you don't have much business being a landlord, imo.

beast asking for feedback is a very good idea. Perhaps they went wrong somewhere or omitted some information. But I think it'll just be a case of avoiding that letting agent in the future. Fcfc is normal practise around here, though the letting agent will screen for unsuitable tenants.

I just feel guilty because I recommended the area and she took time off work for the appointment partly due to my say so. When did it get so difficult to rent a flat? They budgeted for a three month short-stay let while they found an appropriate place. That's up at the end of October so they're either going to 1) get tied to place they don't actually like 2) extend the short-term let at great expense 3) end up in my spare room for a while.

I'm guessing that other prospective tenants simply offered to up the rental price. It doesn't seem like a transparent process to me.

[PlatinumStart]

You're over thinking ifnyounfeel guilty because you recommended the area

[VoiceofRaisin]

No need to feel guilty! You told her about a potentially suitable house and she chose to view it. The fact she didn't get it is not your responsibility. You sound like a nice friend. As for taking a day off work, I expect she would have done even had she known about the email.....how else would she look at houses?

[ReallyTired]

As a landlord I find the idea of having to interview tenants bizare. I am interested in whether prospective tenants have a good credit rating and whether they have the income to pay the rent and whether they have good references from a previous landlord!

I think that interviews open up the possibilty of discrimination. Ie. if the landlord chose not to rent to a black or polish couple or pregnant mother... If I was choosing a tenant then I would want to be objective as possible

If loads of people were tripping over themselves to rent a property then I would raise the price.

[ICameOnTheJitney]

We're looking to leave our current rental and the letting agent told me that competition for lets is so high, some people will pay a holding deposit without even viewing the house.

I am panicking now. We have until after Christmas and need to save deposit!

[Want2bSupermum]

I am a LL. I would never do this as it opens you for a discimination case. If you document that you a minority group and subsequently don't get the flat I would think you could have grounds to challenge the landlord.

[Beastofburden]

It was just as bad when I was renting in London in 1984. It hasn't got any worse :)

[BrokenSunglasses]

My comment about a LL not wanting to rent to someone who may be having a baby soon is speculative, I could well be completely wrong.

But that's the only thing I could think of that might put a LL off a professional couple in their thirties. If the LL wants a long term tenant and the property isn't suitable for children, then tenants who are soon to be TTC might not stay as long as a younger or older couple. Or they might want to stay put, in which case the LL doesn't have the chance to make a choice about whether they let to a family or not, and children do cause more wear and tear that a LL might want to avoid.

[LessMissAbs]

I don't like the terminology the agent used, and I suspect they want something to put in their files so that they can prove they have thoroughly vetted the tenants, in case something goes wrong. Perhaps the landlord has had something go wrong badly in the past.

Its not "first come, first served" though - what other areas of life does that work in? Jobs, schools? Surely, if you have an adequate income and can pass basic credit checks etc then you should be entitled to put down a holding deposit and enter into a lease agreement Not at all. Its a personal agreement, based on the people entering into it, and its perfectly reasonable to choose.

This is normal in Germany, which has a much bigger rental sector than here, and much more protection of long term leases.

It will have been decided on a mixture of previous landlord's references (perhaps phoning to check in person), ID and credit checks and the email. I am very choosy when picking new tenants and will often leave a property empty until the right one comes along, rather than risk the hassle of dealing with a nightmare tenant. But then I meet them in person and I've become pretty good at spotting who fits the "nightmare tenant" profile. But I suspect you actually can tell a lot from the email.

Anyway, perhaps your friends were excellent tenants and only just missed out to some other excellent tenants.

[HeadsDownThumbsUp]

You know I wish it had been decided on previous landlords references, ID, credit checks and the email. That would seem much fairer, as the references, ID, payslips and credit checks are the kind of things you have to submit to secure a lease anyway. But this was decided on just on the basis of the email, which seems silly to me. Anyone can write a gushing email and lie about the length of time they want to stay, what great tenants they are, etc.

So it doesn't seem very well vetted, or comprehensive. And just wastes a lot of people's time. Just putting down a holding deposit seems reasonable to me, because if you can't then show references and a positive credit history (the kind of information landlords must of course have access to) then you'd lose the deposit.

It's the possibility of discrimination (and plain bribery) that worries me. We're not talking about getting a gold-dust property in London.

Just a nice 2-bed apartment in the Central Belt of Scotland.

It's opened my eyes to how acutely the housing shortages in the UK is affecting people. The last time I rented was in Quebec, and that was a breath of fresh air. It amazed me how heavily rights were weighted in favour of tenants. No holding deposits, no security deposits, no rent increases without material improvements...

[LessMissAbs]

Well, I guess the private sector has only to "compete" against public sector housing in Scotland, which is not generally of a very high standard OP! It would surely be discriminatory to apply higher standards to tenants in the private sector - wait - that already happens!

[HeadsDownThumbsUp]

Then again, at least public sector housing authorities seem to have legal, transparent allocation policies!

Honestly, they moved (back) to Scotland because they thought they would get more for their money. They can certainly afford to. Shame about these screwball letting procedures.

[mumtosome61]

I can see from both sides here, having been in the OP's friends situation, but also having a friend who is a LL and the amount of grief/lack of grief he's had.

YANBU to be pissed off for your friend having to justify herself to the LL in light of the fact she was not told. I always entered into rental properties (before buying last year) under the assumption nothing was concrete until I'd signed the contract - I knew that usually, a lot of applicants were shown round and then discussed like a contestant in a reality competition. Harsh, but ultimately you have to get the right tenants in the right home. Having to justify herself and her means is quite demoralising, especially if you are not picked. However, I'm sure your friend would have been a bit more cautious had she known she'd have to write a CV of how good she is for the home, rather than being excited - so for that I am sorry (been there, done that - we missed out on a place by half an hour).

BUT - Landlording, in essence, is either a business or a pension or to pay something off - or all three. And the market is red hot at the moment, because people are less incline to buy both from not being able to, and also from not knowing where the market is going, so there is a lot of competition, I guess.

[LessMissAbs]

Your friend might be better just searching on Gumtree and trying to find a private landlord than using an agent. Its not only tenants agencies mess around...

I think it would be incredibly hard to bring a case of racial discrimination against a potential landlord, unless they made a blatantly racist statement in front of independent witnesses or put it in writing.

OP - are you sure they didn't have to submit previous landlord references along with this email? I've heard of application forms being required, but a lot of it is to ensure the potential timewasters and genuine enough to respond and therefore likely to pay the rent.

Personally I think selling yourself in an email to rent a house is gruesome!

[HeadsDownThumbsUp]

No, they definitely didn't have to submit references, or agree to a credit check, or anything (reasonable) like that. Just fire off an email and 'sell themselves' to the landlord. It just seems supremely unprofessional to me.

I'll advise them to look on gumtree. Thanks, Missabs. Hopefully they'll have better luck with a private landlord.

Mouldingsb - I am shocked that you were asked for a £250 admin fee before even applying! What a racket!

[TheBigJessie]

A £250 admin fee?! What are they administering with? Parchment with gold leaf?

And people say "just move" to other people... Removal costs, house deposits are bad enough. I'd never considered the possibility of huge superfluous admin fees.

The agency we rent through only charges £70 to process the actual contract!

[RenterNomad]

That business with the holding deposits is a recognised abuse: www.oft.gov.uk/news-and-updates/press/2011/88-11#.Ulb9CLtZ6Jw

Bullet point 3 states explicitly: " Where a let does not go ahead through no fault of the tenant, the prospective tenant's holding deposit will be refunded in full and within 10 working days."

Withe the OFT, it's always hard to tell exactly how many teeth their ptonouncement have, but it's great that someone is recognising it.

[BrokenSunglasses]

I'm sure the landlord and the agent will check references and credit after they have decided who to go for on an email.

If you are only hearing this from your friend, you really don't know that the tenant was going to be decided purely on an email. For all you know they chose ten prospective tenants to ask for references for, and your friend just wasn't one of them.

[maddening]

but by not being chosen the ll isn't declaring them unsuitable - just that he preferred someone else.

[VikingLady]

Plenty of LL don't want to rent to families with children - a letting agent once told us on average they cost more than three times as much in repairs at the end of the lease as pet owners do.

Our first rental was let to us at the letting agent's discretion - the LL had asked for a professional couple with no children or pets, and had decorated to an exceptionally high standard throughout. The deposit was low as a result. Letting houses is a business, and you can do business with who you like, more or less. Shops can refuse to serve you, LL can refuse to rent to you.

[ReallyTired]

Renting to families with children is problematic if you need to evict them. Familes are more likely to have financial problems. Couples with or without children may break up. If one of the couple is a SAHM then you can find yourself in a situation where the father has left and the mother cannot pay the rent. It is hard when the mother wants to use housing benefit to pay the rent, but the mortgage and insurance stipulate no people on benefits. We had a nice tenant who asked us to evict her so that she could get a council house. I felt terrible even though she wanted to be evicted.

A different set of nightmare tenants had a little boy and social services and the police broke the door down to take him into care. I felt no guilt in evicting the parents and relieved that I was not making a three year old homeless.

[Trills]

When did it get so difficult to rent a flat?

When it happened that (in this area) there are now not enough nice flats available to rent and lots of people wanting to rent them.

In my area there are definitely fewer "nice houses" available to rent than there are "professional couples" who want to rent them.

I am one of the renters but I don't see why landlords shouldn't ask questions to try to work out who would be the kind of tenant that would suit them.

[Trills]

One of my colleagues is currently working abroad and is letting out his house via an agency. He is also saying to everyone at work "do you know anyone who would want to rent my house?"

If he finds someone who is personally recommended, then someone who enquired via the agency may get turned down. Not because there is anything wrong with them, but because he'd rather rent privately to someone who comes with a recommendation.