to think "why should I pay for tenant referencing??"

[haemomum]

Considering a house move, from private rent to private rent. New landlord wants to do a tenant reference check, which is fair enough, I think I'd want ot if it was me letting a house. BUT, I think it's a bit of a cheek to ask the prospective tenants to pay for it isn't it? It's not benefiting me IYKWIM, it's only for their peace of mid that I'm tellign the truth about my income, job, addresses etc. There's no guarantee that it'll pass, so no guarantee that they'll take us on as tenants, so why should we pay for it? There's enough to fork out with overlapping rent and moving costs! AIBU? Has anyone else had to do this or have landlords paid for the checks themselves?

I always have to pay for them according to my agents (I am a landlady)-maybe they are double crossing (evil grin emoticon).

It's a pretty standard check for a landlord to request tbh- any agency would make you pay for one. How much is he charging? WHen I worked in lettings it was where we made our money- the check cost us £25, we charged the tenants nearly 200 quid

I've always paid for them myself when moving; I'm quite happy to pay for the checks but always a bit eek that there's no guarantee of a lease even if you do pass IYSWIM; when we rented this palce both prospective tenants paid for checks (other chose to pull out though). That £80 'application fee' was a lot of money to us.

Pawslikepaddington- I would seriously query that with your agent. I can't see why they'd make the landlord pay rather than the tenant- why should you foot the bill if they turn out to be unsuitable or change their mind??!

Tenants paid in the Estate Agents I worked in. £65 plus VAT each. Was standard in this area of London.

haemomum - as a tenant I have been told this is standard. I agree this is out of order, because the information is for the landlord not the tenant, so
(s)he should pay for it - I already know this stuff about myself and don't need to pay a third party to tell me!

I think it is another example of the crappy way tenants are treated in this country - it really annoys me but I was basically told to pay it or forget about getting the house.

littlelamb - the reason why the landlord should pay, imo, that it is a service for him / her, not for the tenant. The information remains true even if the deal doesn't come to fruition - in other words, the landlord gets what he / she pays for. The landlord needs to know, not the tenant; (s)he is always free to take a risk and rely on trust or no-cost personal references instead (although they would probably choose not to as it would not be statistically cost effective, even if they were paying for the credit check). It should be seen as a running cost of their business.

Asking the tenant to pay this is like a company invoicing for their time when they hold job interviews.

Thanks everyone. Glad to see it's standard, not just us! I went to a couple of agencies a few weeks back and both said they charge. This landlord is charging £85 inc VAT, but I've checked the website and it's only that much with Rent Guarantee, which is the insurance for if tenants can't pay their rent (i think). Surely we shouldn't have to pay for that too - and certainly not without a tenancy agreement in place??
I have no problem in the check being done - both DP and myself have nothing to hide, and we've given the landlord all the info that'll come back already.

No, you shouldn't be paying for the privelege of rent guarantee- that is definately down to the landlord.

When I was renting, I lost a fortune in reference and credit check fees, time and time again. Never once used an agent where the landlord was considered responsible for fees.

I remember one credit check coming back saying that they recommended a guarantor because as I was looking to rent as a single person and therefore would have no 'fallback' if I lost my job.
I was astounded; at nearly 30, with a well-paid job, both parents in their 60s and living off savings and pensions; who the hell did they expect to be my guarantor?!
I lost the holding deposit I'd put down to secure the place that time, as the agent considered that I'd 'backed out' of the agreement for not being able to come up with a guarantor. £250, plus the £85 I'd forked out for the credit check. Money down the drain.

Hated it, not fair at all to have tenants pay for your own piece of mind.

When a company credit checks clients they are considering doing business with they pay for the credit checks after all it is they who need to know the risks involved with dealing with that organisation.
It's just another money making exercise that has been drummed into people is the norm. The sooner BTL and landlords are forced into operating as business' the better, I have it on good authority that day is not far away and tenants will be the winners.

Slammerkin, you should take the agents to the small claims court, you'd win that £335 back.

Sorrento - did you get the job???

it's rubbish but on everywhere we rented we had to pay the credit check fee

Hi FAQ - I don't know they still haven't come back to me so am still hoping and trying not to read too much into it.
Thanks for asking x

When me and dh moved into our rented accommodation 18mths ago we had to pay £100 each and £100 admin fee!!!!!!!! Then of course its a months rent in advance and six weeks deposit!!