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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

When Trying to Find a Flat to Rent

38 replies

TheChandler · 08/05/2015 22:36

...would you expect to provide references?

I have a small flat for rent, and I am turning prospective tenants away because they object to providing references. Am I being incredibly unreasonable in expecting a prospective tenant to prove they are who they say they are and prove they can pay the rent and will look after my property?

Every time I've rented property (I'm renting now where I work), I've had my references ready to go.

OP posts:
drivingmisspotty · 09/05/2015 20:03

Ah I see that makes sense.

Odd that you are attracting recently single men! Or chancers with sob stories...

Renart · 09/05/2015 20:06

References are usually after a viewing and provisionally agreeing to take the flat, aren't they? Have to admit I'd be dubious about handing over enough pesonal info for ID fraud without knowing that you weren't just another advance fee scammer using photos of a random flat, like half the property ads on craigslist and gumtree seem to be! (No offence OP, am sure you're trustworthy!)

CallMeNancy · 09/05/2015 20:14

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TheChandler · 09/05/2015 20:18

Odd that you are attracting recently single men! Or chancers with sob stories...

It did make me wonder if these men go around adverts for rooms/flats to rent, try and attach themselves to the female landlord, and then when they don't pay the rent and get kicked out, look for the next!

Good advice CallMeNancy.

OP posts:
viva100 · 09/05/2015 20:46

I've only had to show references once my offer on the flat was accepted (conditional on reference and credit check), not before or straight after the first viewing. I would not bother getting a reference for every flat I see. I would be very wary of a ll asking me for one at such an early stage.
Also, whenever we move, we see on average 7-10 flats (London, have moved 3 times) and show an interest to many more as in the end many of them turn out to have already been rented out or they ask for a higher rent than initially advertised. So I don't bother introducing myself or tell anyone where I work. I just say we're a couple and our budget. I wanna confirm the details and see the flat first. None of your business where I work if I haven't even met you yet. So maybe your expectations are a bit high.

CallMeNancy · 09/05/2015 21:20

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BoneyBackJefferson · 09/05/2015 21:36

"Odd that you are attracting recently single men!"

They have to live somewhere

CallMeNancy · 09/05/2015 21:40

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drivingmisspotty · 09/05/2015 21:44

Well yes they do have to live somewhere but so do recently single women, long-term single people of both genders, couples, groups of friends. Odd that it is one specific group is what I meant

TheChandler · 09/05/2015 21:58

Yes, it really is just single men with the same story - nothing wrong with single men who don't set your instincts on edge off course! 3 separate ones. All with the same story, of having been "thrown out" by their wife or girlfriend or partner, and they had to find something by tomorrow, or the weekend. All very much in a hurry, pushing for an agreement, so it could well be some story designed to cover up the lack of good references again. Perhaps they think it will appeal to a landlord. They were quite charming/persuasive. Didn't let them view either.

It was Gumtree. Have deleted the ad now. Its a whole other world, and I can't stand it any longer!

OP posts:
emwithme · 09/05/2015 23:58

DH and I recently bought our first BTL property. We were going to go with an agency for tenant find but I decided to advertise it on a local FB group for "private landlords" in my hometown.

I put the ad (brief blurb describing the house/rent/deposit etc, photos of lounge/diner, kitchen, bathroom, garden) on at lunchtime on the Tuesday. Had to put my phone on silent because the notifications were driving me CRAZY within about half an hour. We had 70 notifications on the post, and 35 messages off people wanting to view.

I sent them all the following so I could "pre-screen":

"There has been lots of interest in the property. Please could you answer the following questions:

  1. Who will be living in the property?
  1. Do you have children? If so, how many and how old are they?
  1. Do you have pets? If so, what type, how many and how old are they?
  1. Why are you looking to move?
  1. When are you looking to move?
  1. Are you currently working? If so, is it full or part time? How long have you worked there?
  1. Do you claim any benefits? If so, which ones?"

I then narrowed it down to 10 for viewings over the weekend and had a tenant going through referencing by the Tuesday lunchtime. I had already joined the Residential Landlords Association - they do referencing for £29 for non-members, £22 for members and were offering a free full reference and five (smaller) credit checks for new members when I joined.

I used their forms for holding deposit (£200 - rent is £625 pcm so it's enough that the person would have to be "properly" interested but not so much that it would be difficult to get at short-ish notice) when we started the referencing.

It saved me about £200 (plus VAT) which is the average cost of agency "tenant find" and the tenants obviously saved on the extortionate cost of agency fees (average about £200 per tenant round here!)

The tenants I chose are a married couple with a 6 year old who wanted to move because of (a) being in a garden-less flat with (b) antisocial neighbours and (c) wanting to be in a particular catchment area for SECONDARY school.

TheChandler · 10/05/2015 14:15

emwithme that's pretty similar to what I did, except that I advertised it on the dreaded gumtree, didn't get nearly so many enquiries, but still...quite a lot, and I sent them all a form with pretty much the same questions as yours by email in response. Except I specified that I would need previous landlord's reference, failing which, as a result of not previously being in rented property, a current employer's reference. not a reference before viewing, but simply making them aware that it would be a formal arrangement, with references and a six months SAT required and me complying with all the legal requirements.

As soon as I sent the form, most of them simply disappeared, although kick-off man sent me pointless stupid emails back arguing saying "did I really expect a reference, he wasn't used to renting property and didn't know what to do, was I sure I needed a reference for him to rent it, could he just give me his employer's details and phone them myself (I would phone anyway, but no, I'm not going to chase up references for a tenant in the first place).

I thought I was going to rent to one of the single men, who claimed to be getting divorced, because he viewed it, seemed fine, said he would complete the form and provide references, and so I texted him to say he would need to put the first month's rent plus a month's rent as deposit into my bank account and sign the lease. And he went quiet, then texted back a couple of days later to say he had changed his mind.

Same thing with a single woman, except she just disappeared without explanation.

I'm certain its nothing to do with the property, as its a new build and everything in it is brand new.

It seems to me that most of the prospective tenants seem to want it all done very informally.

OP posts:
CallMeNancy · 10/05/2015 18:30

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