I’m a landlord of 3+ years but this is the first time I dealing with all paperwork etc myself as I usually go via an estate agent, so here I am on open rent as it looks like a one stop shop!
This time I have 3x tenants for my 3x bed flat (HMO licence sorted ) I found them myself - prior to joining open rent.
I have a brother / sister / cousin who will be moving in in Oct. 2x students, 1x recent graduate freelancer with less than 1 years work - so I believe all 3 individuals need to have guarantors.
? Do I just jump straight to guarantor checks (3x£30) or do I also have to do checks on the tenants themselves as well (for an additional + 3x£30!?) - I would obviously rather not pay for them to be checked as well as the guarantors unless it’s advisable I should do both!? Unsure of the correct protocol.
Before anything ask for evidence of income and what sources, and ask if anything will come up in referencing (credit, debts, income, past LL, criminal history, employer, right to rent,ID) that you should know about. If they say nothing and you get any surprises from referencing you then reject then
There are lots of other questions you should be asking before referencing (look online for questions LL should ask tenants) including why moving etc etc
Only then when satisfied, reference Check all of them
A) to find out if tenants can afford
B) to work out if guarantors can afford to be guarantors (tougher test)
Etc
If fails a) or b) or anything at all you’re not happy with…find someone else.
Get some LL training (eg nrla) as there are multiple things OR doesnt do for you
-checking relationships of tenants
-right to rent checks
-ico registration and privacy notice
-fire risk assessments
-Legionellas risk assessments
-selective licensing if needed
If a joint tenancy not separate contracts all 3 tenants jointly liable and each guarantor would have to be able to guarantee full amount. There’s no means to allocate how much of total each guarantor responsible for. So would be a nightmare if ever had to get anything from guarantors and likely all 3 will fail affordability so then you cant get rgi either.
These tenants look dodgy to me – especially the one with just freelance work. Most little businesses fail in the first two years. You really don’t want the complexities of dealing with 3 guarantors.
My advice is as follows – reject them and wait to find tenants who can afford to pay the rent. If you can’t find them then you’re in the wrong business. Things have changed, the courts are slow and difficult to deal with.
Hello Katherine. Congratulations on getting this far. Now that we are in a different legislative environment I would suggest two things straight away. Firstly make sure you fully reference everyone and get guarantors wherever needed. And secondly, be aware that Openrent is a letting agency. They have some other documents and guides to help you, but they’re not a managing agent and for that, you’re on your own, with all the risks that now brings. I would strongly urge you to join a landlord association and do some training. There are lots of bear traps out there for the unwary.
It’s not an hmo if they are all related
N r l a members pay £10 per credit check
You’ll also have access to all their contracts and fundamentals course etc etc
Landlord law is another excellent resource
In fact her contract is the best I’ve read
) I found them myself - prior to joining open rent.