I preferred using OpenRent because I understood it was Landlord and Tennant direct without agents involved? But I am continuously running into auto-responses from agents posing as landlords querying income, bank statements, criminal records etc. BEFORE we even get to a viewing.
That is an awful lot of personal / private (vulnerable) information to hand over to someone without so much as a profile pic. I was really hoping the experience would be more personable than that. I had such a great relationship with my previous landlord (8yrs), and this is an awful shock.
So how are we navigating this?
As the majority of these queries are also technically illegal to request - such as proof of a guarantor. Can you report these ads?
Sorry, I’m just finding it disheartening trying to find a “home” right now.
How do we protect ourselves while reassuring homeowners that actually care?
There are a lot of enquiries on open rent , a lot of them are not suitable for the property.
Auto response may actually be from a landlord. I have auto responses. They are there as a filter. Out of over 100 enquiries sometimes only one is a suitable applicant
I would not ask to see these documents just ask to know if they will meet requirements
The reason being I don’t want to do a hundred unnecessary viewings if they don’t earn the right income or have pets ( as I have allergies ) or are bringing six people into a two up two down etc etc
I would advise you to respond to these questions because you may exclude yourself from a home that you may actually be an ideal tenant for
You are correct Openrent is generally a platform for LL and tenant. However, the additional questions that are sometimes asked of tenants may be quite legitimate for a landlord. It is not uncommon for landlords to receive 100 enquiries within a couple of weeks so the additional questions will be included so that only those that closely meet the criteria will make the shortlist to get a viewing before the preferred candidate is chosen to go forward with the tenancy. I agree it can seem a little intrusive, however I believe (from memory) the initial stage your personal info is not collected. You are communicating through the platform to protect your anonymity. After viewing is generally when names and phone numbers are exchanged and personal data is collected. Best practice states that LLs should sign up with the data commissioners office and provide their own privacy statement at an early stage of the process.
Fair enough and that makes sense. My father used to let properties, but it’s a whole different playing field now. Having been both an LL and an Airbnb host it makes sense to vet who is staying / living in the property as much as you are ever able.
It just gets a bit much from a tenant POV when you are answering the same auto-responses repeatedly. I guess as tenants, we could also set something up addressing these concerns in our introductions.
I thought I had, but was met with more questions or the same questions worded differently.
A friend of mine had 105 enquiries for a property thru O R What to do ? She chose a couple expecting their first baby out of sympathy more than anything. Keep going Answer all questions. It is a lottery.
Don’t give up
With the R r b coming in landlords are being more careful because no s21 means you could be in for murky waters before you can evict
It’s an exam keep answering the questions
I don’t waste my time with those that don’t reply
This is your first impression so make it count
It’s an interview process
You get asked the same questions at interviews over and over
Your employer is getting an idea of you are suitable
It’s the same thing
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