I asked a prospective tenant if they would give me their email address and mobile number so I could request a reference through OR but the reply had the email address redacted by OR! How can I get a reference for someone before they have a viewing? I live a long way from the property and don’t want to waste time and petrol showing someone round who isn’t suitable.
You want to pay for a reference, for someone who hasn’t even seen your property, & might not want to rent it. That seems crazy.
That said, you can request references on anyone at any time through openrent. Just go to the ordering reference section in the drop down menu for ‘pricing & services’.
Easy, give them your contact details and ask them to get in touch.
Never reference until you have taken bank statements, spoken to employer, preferably spoken to previous landlord (not current), met the applicant in person and done a viewing. Referencing/credit check should be the very last thing you do to confirm everything you know up to that point.
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Hello you seem to understand the rental market. I messaged a landlord on here to view a property via a video of the property as I am abroad. I would of course then viewed in person if it was still available. This chap then proceeded to send mea huge page of questions, which I was happy to answer, but before viewing he wanted a copy of my passport. Is this now normal practice? As the high street agencies do not ask for this until application of the property.
perfectly normal. I ask applicants to bring passport to viewing. If I get a decent vibe from the viewing and want to go further, I have them sign a data protection form and then I take a photo of the passport.
It’s a legal requirement for LLs to check your right to rent (passport will do it if you’re British). I always check asap because it’s simple to do and if you can’t prove right to rent, a LL will waste their time going any further.
If you’re a foreign national then the LL will need more than just your passport to check you have a right to rent in the UK. They should be asking for that proof right at the start of the process.
I have a property that is 3.5 hours away, all fully letted out which is great, but I SOO get the frustration.
What I did was schedule all the viewings in one day where I was available, then I would get them out of the way on that day.
Personally, I never had to ask for a reference for a viewing, but I feel there is no harm in asking for a landlord reference (might save you even more time in the long run) or ask for a personal reference, to make sure the person going for the viewing is kept accountable.
The last resort is hiring a property and lettings management company (like myself, shameless plug haha) that will do the viewing, have a thorough tenancy process (to ensure that the potential tenant is respectable and can afford the rent) and like myself I would charge 50% of one months rent, but you would have a solid tenant.
Yes that’s what I tried to do but OpenRent ask me for the tenant’s phone number and email address to do the referencing. I’m unable to provide these details because when the prospective tenant emails them to me OpenRent redact the information! I’ve decided to just ask a few questions in the prescreening section instead.
Thanks for this. I haven’t used OpenRent before and am finding it a bit difficult to get my head round! I’ve decided to try and ask a few pre-screening questions if the site will allow me such as:
How many people will be living in the property?
Are you in full-time employment? If yes, please provide details.
If not, how do you intend to cover the rental cost each month?
Do you hold a current Passport? Would you be willing to bring it, along with your previous 3 months bank statements, to the property viewing if requested?
Have you rented before? If yes, please provide details.
Do you think 3 months bank statements should be enough? Can you inform me what I need to do to ensure I comply with the Data Protection Act as I’m aware this is highly personal information I’m asking for.
I ask for 6 months (no one’s ever refused or even questioned it - it’s pretty standard practice). I’m registered with the ICO and they have guides which help you “Create your own privacy notice” (just search for that and ICO).
Try to make your questions broader and info questions (not yes/no). For example, instead of your yes/no employment question, ask What sources of income do you have?
The one question I always ask is “If I run a credit check, will I find anything that could jeopardise your application?” It’s not fatal if they do, we all have a past. But it is fatal if they say no and then I find something.
Oh, and I always do my screening questions over the phone. I want to get a vibe from them, hear how well prepared they are to answer, pick up any hesitations or contradictions, etc. I only invite them to view if they can meet all my criteria at this stage and I don’t get a bad vibe. And I don’t ask them if they’re willing to bring ID. I just tell them they’ll need to bring it.
Thanks but I chose to let the property through OpenRent this time precisely because I wanted to see the prospective tenant and get an idea of what they were like instead of relying on someone else’s opinion.
Thank you so much for this advice. You’ve been so helpful!
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If you google ‘questions landlords should ask tenants’ there are lots of good lists. Getting the prospective tenants to answer some by message and /or via a phone call definitely a great idea
Understand why they are moving, their previous renting history and their intentions, and whether they are familiar with the area are just as important as whether they have refs or can financially afford your rent and deposit requirements. Two people might be renting together for first time, moving to be near family, or planning renting for only 1 year as looking to buy. The more you know the more you can decide if they will suit your property. Turning on the OR screening questions also helps.
Good luck!
I hear that, although that was 1/3 of my answer, hope you found the rest helpful and wish you all the best.
If you need help navigating OpenRent, welcome to give me a shout or send me an email. Can walk it through, no strings attached.
To obtain email and contact number of viewing request, click on manage options button, one of choices is request contact details, brings a screen to accept data protection responsibilities, then shows contact info. You can always give them your mobile number and ask them to whatsap or email you a share code if non British passport, or a photo of their passport etc. Reference now £30 .
don’t forget you also need their date of birth to check a share code
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