The tenant passed the referencing, although they didn’t have any information from their previous landlord. We are eligible for Rent Guarantee Insurance. We’re wondering which option would be better for us — a guarantor, Rent Guarantee Insurance with OpenRent, or perhaps both. I would be grateful for your views.
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Are you able to contact the previous landlord? I would want to speak to them before progressing.
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I wasn’t able to speak with them. I have the landlord’s name and street address, but no phone number or other contact details. The tenant shared a bank statement showing regular payments to the landlord and that is all….
Has he refused to give the landlords contact details?
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He said he doesn’t have their details and that there was a dispute about mould and deposit at the end, but he was able to demonstrate (with bank statements) that he had been renting for almost 10 years.
If you’re not sure about tenant why not both. Plus landlord insurance that covers legal fees if you have to evict
Look the landlord up on LinkedIn or if tenants previous place has been rented out again, see if you can find an advert to get in touch.
V suspicious to say was in dispute at end but refuse to provide contact details. Find out from tenant which deposit scheme who might pass a message on for you asking if you can talk to former LL, or …send LL a short letter asking for a quick call as you’d like to get their side of story before decision to rent to tenant, give your tel.
If there are or ever have been issues with mould or damp in your property due to tenants lifestyle (not ventilating not covering pans with lids when cooking, not using extractor fan or dehumidifier etc) or not knowing how to deal with, then just avoid
If there was a dispute tenant should have photos from departure of condition or evidence LL supplied to deposit scheme from which you can judge for yourself. Deposit scheme should be willing to tell you if former LL claim was upheld or not (so should tenant)
Good luck
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There was no deposit scheme in place. He rented the property from 2013 to 2023. Over the past 14 months, he has been house-sitting and provided the details of the person for whom he was house-sitting, who wrote a good reference for him.
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Anybody can get someone to write a reference, this situation sounds very dodgy. Renters rights bill is now law and regaining possession of your property is going to be very long winded and costly if you rent to the wrong person. Ultimately it’s upto you but guarantor will also need referencing to determine they are able to pay the rent should the tenant default. Insurance is also a must have. For me the back story is all too suspect , no landlord details, house-sitting??
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Whilst we don’t know about your applicant, you should be aware that tenants that have left under a cloud will often claim to have been living with family, friends, house-sitting etc and get their mates to write them a reference.
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… apparently
20 characters
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If tenant was house sitting for 14 months they should also have been paying council tax. You could ask for evidence also that person named as owner actually owned the address given.
Ultimately you seem determined to rent to this particular individual but are conscious there are some risks. Others here are saying avoid due to suspicious back story.
I think going back to your original question, given the risks you are clearly aware of, if you go ahead it makes sense to do the max to mitigate these ie both RGI and guarantor (referenced) and insurance that covers legal expenses/advice if you had to evict. Increase the asking rent to cover. I would ask tenant to explain to you properly what the mould issues were in the property they rented, how extensive and what the cause was to try to get some idea if this was a minor cleaning issue or something more serious as well as tenant’s attitude to it. and I would have a conversation with tenant about what needs to be done to avoid mould and damp issues in your property and include as much detail as possible in contract, draw attention to it before signing and supply a full instruction manual (others here have done lists of what things to do). And consider whether to suggest a regular cleaner needed (and extra rental cost if so). Your property is valuable if tenant has cash to offer several months rent upfront (which will be illegal soon and could just end up meaning you have to return it till its due) as I think you’ve indicated elsewhere they can maybe afford a higher rent including a regular cleaner who is also your (unofficial) eyes and ears.. they may even welcome it.
Good luck
Theres a Big red flag there
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You’re seeing “lefty” signs everywhere aren’t you 
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Not sure what you mean…. not seeing any signs now 
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