I’ve a property on Open Rent for a month, the amount of applications that can’t pass a simple ID check is getting crazy. Example Red Flags - saying they are abroad and can’t use the Vetting Link. Or they are divorced and need room for adult kids to by pass ID checks. I even had a Mother and Daughter Actor team come view the property - Its a 4 bed house so when I asked about the husband, she said it was her sister - I sent the Vetting process and apparently the sister dropped out. Also be weary of people asking to pay 6 months rent in advance. These teams are taking over houses and re-letting via airbNB or worst turning them into weed farms. The Renters Rights not helping landloards , as evictions will be a lot harder.
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Hi @Tsz
These are of course all the people that letting agents give short shrift to and are shown the door and who know how to buck the system to get in front of unwitting LL’s. Thanks for highlighting the issue.
Previously had lots of applicants who would not answer simple pre-viewing vetting questionaires, gave sob stories, had 6 relatives who were going to live there but only one viewing. etc etc. All kinds of shenanigins to dupe a LL into giving them a tenancy.
Are you pre-vetting tenant applicants by asking lots of suitable questions about who, what, where, when in order to decide who to offer viewings to - way before any official ID checks?
Best
@Tsz thanks well done for sharing
RRA makes harder to evict so checks are more important than ever. Under RRA Landlords can’t require 6months in advance anyway
Good luck
OP was advising LLs to be on the watch for people offering 6 months (which is still legal to accept) as it’s one sign that they have ulterior motives for renting your property.
Yes, I’ve now ramped up pre-vetting questions before I even consider a viewing appointment . 2 physical viewings however did slip through early on, agreed to rent, then I sent the Open Rent Vetting which 1 failed and the other party didn’t even attempt. The last time the property was on the market was 4 years ago, for a minute I dropped my guard, it’s crazy how fraud has increased since then. With my pre-vetting in place and physical passport checks on viewing, then paying £30 for OpenRent full vetting (per adult) after accepting. I think the 3 layers of protection is solid enough now.
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6 months advance rent offer is a confidence trick to test how far you would drop full vetting. It normally comes with so many stories. Divorce, overseas business, self employed. Yada yada, Yawn, yawn …
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RRA does not allow 6months advance as part of the rental condition. But landlords can consider accepting if offered after the agreement. To be clear, unless there was a total legit reason a tenant offers, refuse it . Just another confidence trick to pull your guard down.
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