OpenRent create a Bad tenants and a tenant registry

Landlord Discussion
1

It is possible for OpenRent to create an internal listing of bad tenants. I think it would be an invaluable tool to have access to. Additionally I feel that many OpenRent landlords might be continually falling victim to the same small number of scammers continually. Thoughts everyone?

10 Likes
2

I will bet that they wont do it as they think it will scare tenants off. They will believe tenants first and landlords second

1 Like
3

Just Google tenant registry,it lists the good and the bad.

1 Like
4

Well let’s give them some time and I’ll remain open minded in the meantime. However it is BADLY needed and would be a fantastic resource to us landlords. Personally I feel that the law has been weighted way too far towards the tenants at the moment and all we can do is sit around and wait! I’m a decent landlord with numerous properties and I treat all my tenants impeccably well. However when I come across an absolute pair of tossers I believe that I should have a private OpenRent (landlord only) forum to publish their names so that other OpenRent landlords can steer well clear of these tenants. I have since discovered that these particular tenants are repeatedly ‘screwing’ their landlords. They left stacks of post behind them totalling probably £80-£100k of CCJ etc. Unfortunately they keep changing their names and seem to continually get away with this.

5

I have tried using this but it never seems to work! Maybe it just doesn’t work on mobiles. However mobile access is what I need as I think most do so this is not an option.

6

It is the landlords however who pay the OpenRent fees so maybe they might need to consider this before a competitor does…

1 Like
7

Be interesting to see a reply from them tomorrow. I bet they will not do it

1 Like
8

Great idea it would only put off the bad tenants not the good. There are lots of good tenants who shouldn’t miss out on properties to fraudsters also.

2 Likes
9

Not ONE landlord on OpenRent wants to rent to fraudsters who are going to stop paying the rent as soon as they get their feet under the table and possibly smash the property up also! Also NOT ONE landlord on OpenRent would want anything to do with this type of tenant. The NO 1 objective for every OpenRent landlord (who pays the OpenRent bills!!!) is to ensure they get good tenants. It is actually imperative that OpenRent offers their landlords this service. As you say it will simply discourage bad tenants from using this service. Again this will be a GREAT SELLING POINT for OpenRent to increase their signup of landlords as they can show that they are offering a premium service which is there to also protect the landlord. Eventually the ONLY people put off by this is the bad tenants who have ZERO right of being here in the first place. So to answer your question Colin, will they - I say THEY MUST! If they do not, or refuse or indeed put this into the ‘long grass’ then they are simply showing their contempt to the market (the landlords) on which their business model is built. If it doesn’t happen I will take my business elsewhere as should ALL other landlords.

3 Likes
10

they have not replied yet .They are no doubt considering a reply

11

Hear hear. The sooner someone does the better.
There is always the other side of the story.

1 Like
12

Do your own research in to each applicant. One person’s nightmare may be another’s delight!

Here is a useful starter pre tenancy question list:
Pre-Tenancy Questionnaire.
Today’s date:

  1. What is your full name?
  2. Date of Birth?
  3. Nationality, what type of ID documents do you have Passport etc?
  4. Why are you moving?
  5. How long have you been in your last place?
  6. How much do you currently pay for rent?
  7. When do you plan on moving in?
  8. How long do you require the property for?
  9. Where do you work?
  10. How long have you been working there?
  11. What is your monthly income?
  12. Will you have the Security Deposit and First Month’s Rent available upon move- In?
  13. How many people will be living in the apartment?
  14. Can You Provide references from your employer and Former Landlord?
  15. Will you sign and consent to a credit and background check?
  16. Can you provide a guarantor?
  17. Have You Ever Been Evicted?
  18. Do you have any CCJ’s bad debt – criminal convictions?
  19. Do you have any pets?
  20. Do you smoke?
  21. Email address?
  22. Phone numbers?
  23. Facebook account or another social media account?
  24. Where did you see the property advertised?
  25. Do You Have Any Questions?
3 Likes
13

Thanks Tim. All very good advice for a novice starting off and letting fit their first time. However I’m not a novice! I’ve been at this for many years and have never had a problem till now. All those questions are great questions BUT the point of this thread is to create a bad tenants register for OpenRent landlords AFTER an issue has occurred. It is a simple and logical next step for OpenRent to pursue as it gives their landlords an insight into issues experienced by other OpenRent landlords. I personally cannot see any reason why OpenRent haven’t done so a few years ago. Even now they seem very slow to even engage here. I have to wonder why???

1 Like
14

It would be a simple process, much the same as airbnb, it would work both ways
Bad tenants and also Bad landlords!

15

I think it would be a great idea, i have 4 i could list straight away 2 doing a runner owing 4 months rent each ( both on universal credit you can not apply for the rent to be sent direct until 3 months in arrears then they take about three weeks to sort, they send a letter to the tenant saying they are going to pay direct and they will take x amount from their benefits so the tenant ups and leaves ) one who is now 5 months in arrears says they are moving out but keeps changing the date ( ive seen the state of the back yard so not looking forward to seeing the state inside the property ) one who been there 3 years just up and left leaving just about every thing, damaged the flooring, pinched the doors of the kitchen units, took doors off, fleas and stank, moldy food in cupboards and all over bench tops and cooker ( and she had a child ) cost just over ÂŁ3000 to sort before being able to re-rent

16

All of these tenants could easily be avoided by new OpenRent landlords with this register on the OpenRent platform safeguarding all of us. Why this hasn’t happened already baffles me!

1 Like
17

JOIN page doesnt exist

18

no reply from open rent yet or have I missed it? I wonder will they remove this subject without a reply?

1 Like
19

Hi Declan, we know that one of landlords’ main concerns is letting to tenants who will pay the rent regularly and treat the property and its furnishings in a tenant-like manner. The best tool landlords have to do this is ordering a professional referencing company to check the tenant. That will include a reference from the previous landlord, which ought to go a long way to finding out what kind of tenant the applicant is.

In general it’s quite tough for companies to find a fair way to set up a peer-reviewing system. I can list some of the problems companies like us face.

  • Timing: When is the right moment to allow customers to review each other? Is it at the viewing? Is it once the tenant has moved in? Is it three months in? Is it when the deposit has been returned? It’s tough to know.
  • Veracity: We don’t really have any way to verify the veracity of some kinds of claims reviews make. E.g. if a tenant claims a landlord has claimed one thing at the viewing then another thing on the tenancy agreement, it’s hard for us to know if this is true or not
  • Symmetry: There would need to be a symmetry between both tenants’ and landlords’ reviewing powers.
  • Fairness: With things like Uber, users may take 100 rides a year. That means if they have a bad day and get a bad review, it is diluted by all their other, good days as a passenger. But people only move or let their property once every 20 months or so on average. One bad review can make a big difference and that might not necessarily be fair.
  • Criteria: Some landlords may think that cancelling a viewing the day before means the tenant deserves one star out of five. For another landlord, they might think it perfectly reasonable to do that and not mind much anyway because they already found a tenant, and so give the tenant five stars for the same behaviour.

These are just some of the things we have to think about before implementing a peer reviewing system. It’s really important to get them all right if we do go for such a solution.

Other users have discussed this before here:

1 Like
20

What about a list for bad landlords that would be good for us tenants also.

2 Likes