i have a block viewing on my property this saturday, the last time i rented it out through a high street agent i had several applications, if this happens again do i get a written application from each party with personal details, or do i just have to ask the questions i feel are important to me to decide which application to go with ??
Are you using OpenRent this time?
yes im using open rent this time, but agents get every applicant to complete an application but i take it only successful applications complete the full application, is that right ??
I would have given prospective tenants an application to complete before offering a viewing, or at the very least asked for Right To Rent documentation. Too late for that now. Don’t be surprised if you get more than just a few viewers so best to give them all an application to complete as you could get confused by who said what. Questions to ask; Employment status, type of contract, permanent, fixed term etc. and how much they earn as they will need to pass affordability check if you proceed to referencing. Referencing agencies often use an annual income of 30 times the monthly rent. Also ask how soon they could move in.
Additionally, as you will be processing prospective tenants personal data, technically, you should register with the ICO and issue your own privacy statement before getting them to complete an application.
well they all passed on the screening questions, i did decline several but there are 12 viewings booked on a block viewing all in one day. I will get an application form to take with me that interested parties can complete and send back to me Thanks
@Paul22 although I am on this forum, I haven’t actually used OpenRent to list a property. I forgot there were screening questions you could ask, which is pretty much the same as getting them to complete an application before viewing.
You have done the right thing 
Thanks, looking at the viewings there are a few that look quite strong applications such as somebody who has been in a neighbouring property for 4 years looking for something bigger and a couple of others that have good income and have been in their current properties for long periods. I just hope one of the strong applications applies Thanks again
@Paul22 - I’m new to this landord lark and am at the same position as you with multiple viewings next week. I cannot find the application form on Open Rent or Rent Now, do you have a link, or list of the questions they need to answer?
Great idea to get them to fill this out at the viewing, or email afterwards.
Thanks
Hi Greg
I didn’t use an application form in the end, i found one on the national landlords association website but it was very detailed and I was concerned that they would have to fill it all in again for the open rent referencing system. There are screening questions that help you to weed out those that cant afford the rent as it asks for their combined monthly income and minimum affordability is apparently two and a half times the monthly rent. You can also ask for additional information when they enquire such as address, contact number etc. To be honest it was quite clear to me which viewer was best based on that information. Obviously when open rent reference them they get detailed information and references and issue a full report but its cost the landlord £20 per reference. The other thing I would say is the national landlords association is very good and well worth joining, I cant remember the exact cost but I think it was about £80. They have an advice line that you can call if you ever have any questions and they have templates for all the forms you could ever need. It was NRLA that gave me the confidence to do it myself through Openrent after many years of using letting agents. Hope this helps Paul
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Likewise for me toooooo
Thank you so much @Paul22 That does give me the confidence to go with a mix of gut and basic important info offered during the viewings.
Do you know whether we can still proceed with a tenant (via Rent Now) if they have failed the affordability referencing? Our preferred tenant did not include his wife’s income in the referencing, as we only referenced him as the lead tenant…?
i would reference the other party as it may mean they reach the affordability needed, also you do want all adult occupiers to be on the tenancy agreement. If they fail the affordability you can still accept them but its a little more risky and you wont be able to do the rent guarantee insurance. I have had a couple of tenants over the last 10 years who have failed that have paid rent up front, the last one paid 6 months rent upfront.
Thanks @Paul22. So if we reference his partner through the Open Rent referencing service, they will be able to identify that both these people will be taking a joint tenancy and then add the separate references together, or we wiull have to reference them both together again, so it is clear it is a joint tenancy?
Thanks
Greg
I would imagine that you would need to somehow indicate that they are being referenced jointly for one tenancy.
They would be linked by the property address, my property that i have just let had three application forms on it, one for him one for her and one for the guarantor. They have to be seperate as they will probably all have different employers
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