Under different circumstances I wouldn’t even be considering this but I’ve only had one enquiry for my flat and I’m feeling desperate. And nervous because of the eviction ban.
The person who wants to rent has a letter from her employer stating her salary as £65k for working in a nail bar. Clearly fake (or I’m in the wrong job!) and I don’t know whether her landlord reference is therefore also fake. I mean it’s pretty easy isn’t it to just say your friends are your employer and landlord and lie about the whole thing.
I’m nervous that she won’t pay and I can’t kick her out. But I also understand that I can afford more rent than a reference would give me credit for so can see why she would lie.
Do I want a liar for a tenant - no. Do I want a tenant who I can’t kick out - no. Do I want an empty flat - no. I’ve had my flat on for 4 months and had 4 enquiries (normally I’m inundated and find a tenant within a couple of days but everyone’s left London and for the first time I’ve been fallow).
What would you do? Any thoughts on ways round it, upfront rent? Guarantor (they could also be a liar)? Does the referencing system through openrent look at the idea that references could be fake? Or would they pass it and leave me exposed. I’m assuming rentguard is still not available.
Thanks for your input!
Is this a serious question?!
DO NOT TAKE ON A LIAR> you will regret it
Follow your gut feeling and steer well clear of this one, otherwise you will live to regret it, and could cost you far far more than a couple of months rent on the empty property.
If it was me I would pause the ad for a couple of weeks then re-advertise with an increased rent.
Just another point, do you just advertise on openrent or do you pay the £29 to go onto other portals, if you don’t pay the £29 I strongly recommend you do.
Thanks Tony. I’ve got the full package so I’m on all the portals. My flat’s in London and everyone’s moved away so the rental market is dire. I’d love to know what the wisdom is behind taking it down and raising the price if you’re happy to share! Thanks.
Tenants see your ad for week after week which may suggest there is a problem with the property so taking it down for a couple of weeks and then re-advertise may attract different tenants.
Regarding increase in rent this is a common way of attracting a better clientele.
R U joking, was this an April fool??? Seriously no, don’t take this applicant. Take your advert down, you can pause it on OR. Then clean up, spruce up, lick of paint maybe, take new photos with a sunny day sunshine coming thru windows where possible and alter some of your wording. It’s all about your shop window ie pics and words. Unless of course you’re setting rent too high?
Also echo the above. Don’t do it.
I got a tenant who apparently passed all reference checks etc, but turned out to be a fraud and didn’t pay rent after the 1st 2 months. I should have checked and gone with my gut (salary looked too good to be true and the company on companies House looked no way capable of paying his reported salary), but he still passed referencing.
Been trying to get possession since December. Painful.
Bank statements the last 5 years will confirm employers confirmation of income but this sounds so bizarre why is it even being poised as a question? The last 12 months they have been shut down for most of the time. Sounds sooo dodgy.
You could ask to see a payslip or end-of-year returns to prove that the salary is due. You have to cover your back!
ALWAYS, Pay for a Tenant Reference report, they’re about £ 15 - 20 quid !
Mother always said “If in doubt, don’t”.
Yes know how you feel. A lot of us are in the same boat. Hope you dont mind cliches. That is one of the many downsides of Brexit I suppose. Pandamic didnt help either. Thing is there are liars and there are damn liars as some politician never actually said. 65k for a nail bar girl? I wouldnt entertain her at all. Better an empty flat than a dodgy tenant. Good luck
Bit of a random suggestion - but do you allow pets? A very small percentage of landlords allow pets and there are so many horror stories to put you off. But I decided to put all my rents up by £75 per month when advertising for a new tenant - and allowed pets. Now my properties are rented out within a few days (86 enquiries on my last one - I’m certainly achieving higher rents than similar properties as I have Rightmove alerts set).
Pet ownership has rocketed since Covid so there’s more demand than ever. Even if a pet causes damage I’m up £900 a year on rent (plus there is the added security of the deposit) to aid with any damage costs. And I always say to prospective tenants when discussing their pet(s) that I want the carpets professionally cleaned on check out. All have abided so far. Some may say that’s too much (the extra rental cost) but they are my properties - I decide on the cost - and I want peace of mind. If a prospective tenant doesn’t like the rental amount then they can keep scrolling on Rightmove and choose a different property (which will probably say no pets allowed!)
I imagine other landlords will disagree with me here and I may get trolled with opposing comments - but this is my experience on the matter and I’ve found allowing pets to be great so far. To date I’ve just had to attend with cat hairs on the curtains, a few nibbles on a skirting board and scratches on some doors - all fixable quickly and cheaply. A good quality commercial grade laminate can beat any urine damage (carpets not so much - but even luxury carpets are not very expensive if you find the right supplier).
As a side note, I’m in the North of England with properties in villages which do have lots of dog walkers which of course will work in my favour.
In the pet section on this forum there is a whole load of pros and against
I would advise you add in clauses to accommodate
Tessa has a great page for each pet and what to ask for
I’d personally be open but the building my flat’s in doesn’t allow pets. Great idea otherwise!
I do, I’ve got the full openerent package. But the last tenant I had passed referencing and then couldn’t pay his rent after month 1 so I’m not trusting theirs without gathering some information of my own about the tenant. I no longer trust them to use their nonce to figure out the salary and job don’t match so I’m vetoing before it gets that far!
Ugh, sorry to hear this. My last tenant also passed referencing and couldn’t pay rent after the first month. I was lucky, he decided to move out, but I was really scared I was going to get stuck with him not paying rent for who knows how long with this ban. Good luck, I hope you get yours out swiftly.
Flat is lickedy split, already got professional photos, and I’ve already reduced the price. problem is half of London moved out during Covid and there are boatloads of flats in my neighbourhood and no one wanting to rent them. Sales are high but already over 10% wiped off the prices. I’m between and rock and a hard place right now.