Can we insist on tenants that speak English?

[DexyMidnight]

Looking for opinions / advice on a potentially thorny issue.

We are looking to rent out the main family home in London (we have had a BTL flat for three years, so have some experience of being landlords).

As we will be based overseas, it is really important to us that our tenants can communicate with us in English (our native tongue).

For example should the tenant have an issue with the boiler, I would like them to be able to call / email me and explain what is wrong (no hot water / no heating) and I would like to be able to ask them to please check the fuse box, to tell me if there are any flashing lights on the control panel etc. And also to easily coordinate when the plumber can come over to take a look.

There are other reasons why I would wish to keep communications with a tenant in writing (clarity of who agreed to do what and by when, etc).

If I were to approach a letting agent to help me find a tenant, would I be allowed to insist that the they find me a tenant with whom I can communicate in English?

As a foreigner who had to learn English before moving countries, I don’t see the problem here. If you live in another country you quickly learn to speak the language! I‘d say most foreigners are able to speak or understand some level of English - compared to some other languages, it’s not a difficult language to learn. Most jobs are advertised as „language fluency a must“... and it does make sense. Not being able to communicate with your staff - or even tenant - is frustrating (for both sides), it can even be a health- and safety issue.

You don’t need to advertise that. It’s your agent’s job to vet out anyone who can not communicate in English who will be signing the contract. Since you know, the contract is in English.

I’ve rented my flat out for years myself through gumtree in a London borough and 90% of applicants were not English. Everyone spoke fluent English, bar one couple. The husband kept translating for her. I didn’t particularly have an issue with this (they just didn’t pass a credit check).

MrsMBx thank you for your thoughts. I'm not looking for an English tenant just a tenant that can speak English well so we can muddle along together and sort out any issues on either side efficiently.

All my tenants so far have been from different nationalities and cultures and have been nice people who have kept my flat well.

I just want them to speak English - it can be their second third or fourth language i just need then to speak it.

Unlese they are dutch. Then dh can translate!

Valasca i agree i would have expected the people renting this house to speak english (just from the perspective that i don't think they'd pass the credit check otherwise) but this LA made quite a big song and dance about how our tenants might not speak english and we might need to rely on the app, etc.

Oh dear that was a very porly executed point: i mean that if they are living in london and earning enough to pass credit check id assume the majority of applicants to speak english well. However one of my current tenants is an exception to that rule he's a labourer and doing very well for himself. Although his wife does speak english

Foreigner here who is actually more insulted by Capri's assumptions about wages of people with low level of English than with, what I personally view as quite a reasonable thing, OP’s predicament.
I know where you are coming from and IMHO it's absolutely understandable. Tenants don't need super fluent English, but being able to tell you what's happening is important.
Can't believe some of the posts here🙄 Disability is completely different thing. You have dislexia? You can call, and even if you write it it will be understandable. Deaf? Write it. Both? Still writing it.
But if you have no English, you can't do that unless you use translate apps and they can be horrible so you end up with 'yolk chipped' instead of a 'gas pipe cracked' (illustration of ridiculousness of some translation) plus there is no time during an emergency.
As long as you want just being able to communicate, not English on a level of teacher at Oxford, than it's fine IMHO.

Oh for goodness sake. Give me an example of a highly paid job you can do in the U.K. with poor English skills.

Warehouse operative wages are about £12-15 an hour. People can also be posted here by a company from oversees (very highly paid), builder, welders can get £12-15 an hour... I could go on and on.
You don't need to be an accountant to have good income and £15 an hour is solid income imho.

Ummm ok. A decently priced hosue rental in London can easily cost £3-5k a month so I think we have a pretty different idea of highly paid

I'm more concerned about how OP is going to self-manage from Australia. Whether tenants are fluent in English or not will be the least of her problems.......

Oh for goodness sake. Give me an example of a highly paid job you can do in the U.K. with poor English skills.

My builders! The boss speaks English perfectly but the guys who are here daily have sketchy English and there is a fair amount of pointing and working out what we are saying to each other. I know their day rates as we are having some extra things done, they are skilled and well paid. They would clearly make excellent tenants as they could probably fix the boiler themselves.

However OP you are well within your rights to insist upon tenants with common sense. I rent out a flat and do it through gumtree. I prefer to meet the person myself and they do have to meet a criteria of sorts. Can they make an appointment to view without being a ballache, do they turn up on time, without getting lost and phoning from miles away and asking for directions? Do they send a friend along because they are busy.? So yes, can they call up about a problem, or email about it. Someone can be intelligent without knowing how to say fuse box in English, but they can look it up.

OP I knew (as you did) that you'd get a battering here from the usual suspects. If I were in your position I'd want the same thing.

We previously rented a house in London and the landlady lived/worked overseas; she managed it herself via emails from us; worked beautifully as we both spoke same language.

I've seen plenty jobs specifiying "good stardard of english required" so I assume something like this would be what you need to advise the agents.

I am your potential unwanted tenant.

I rent a house from a landlord who doesn’t speak English fluently and we communicate in a language that is her second language using google translate.

It is really frustrating and I’m sure she wishes she’d chosen tenants who speak her first, second or third languages!!!

I agree that the house may suffer as a result of the miscommunication.

Hey it's ok i knew I'd get a battering! I was just genuinely interested to debate this point as i suspect it's legally a grey area.

I can definitely understand why people think we're mad to self manage but I've seen this from the other side too - calling and calling the EA about a broken washing machine and them fobbing me off, or getting an out of office over the weekend, and not knowing if our LL had even got the bloody message yet.

A washing machine costs £250. If my tenant calls to tell me it's playing up and it's out of warranty i am highly likely to simply ask them when i can book delivery of the new one for, and I'll get straight on the AO website and buy it with next working day delivery, installation and removal of old one. I do not need an estate agent to send a handyman round, charge me £80 plus Vat and then tell me what i already know, ie that it would be more cost effective to replace it.

In preparation for moving we've had a brand new boiler installed (ours was on last legs) and the electrics were all upgraded, new fuse boxes etc and 5 yr safety cert.

I've got a plumber and a sparky on speed dial.

An estate agent might prove worthwhile from time to time but probably not to the tune of 16% plus VAT and before anyone asks YES we pass that saving onto the tenant via the rent!

Maybe I'm just jaded

We have tenants in our house. Even with LA we deal with some issues directly. It’s easier and quicker for everyone and meant a broken boiler was fixed in 12 hours (with heaters delivered in 9 hours) on a cold weekend rather than them having to wait for the office to reopen.

It's only discrimination if you say it out loud!! Just keep looking until you find the right tenant.

If you are not employing an agent. I would suggest an inventory clerk who will do the initial inventory and then you can ask them to do routine inspections every 4 months or so. They can keep you updated on the condition on the property and would be very much cheaper than an agent.

If you are still intent on self-managing, what will happen if your tenants don't want to take time off for a washing machine delivery & installation? Or an urgent repair? If they give notice & you have to interview new prospective tenants? If the handyman can only come at 2pm & the tenants are at work?

FWIW, I tried self-managing from 50 miles away & it did not work for these reasons.

In the end, I did a bit of research & went for a small agency, who do management only (not sales) to look after things. All agents site has reviews. Stay away from big agencies & ones whose main focus is sales.

Absolutely having professional 3rd party inventory plus inspections!

@theendofit do your agents wait in for repairs and maintenence?! Savills didn't. That was the tenants responsibility and if they refused then they were billed for it. (it never came to that as the tenants seemed happy to cooperate in return for good service and responsiveness to issues)