Hi Louise, I have a two bedroom property in Wales is that of any help to you? Don’t exactly know where it is you want to be? I’ve only just bought this Welsh property and it needs a new kitchen, bathroom and there’s a garden with a decking area but needs attention so this property won’t be ready till the 8th of November. Is that any good to you?
We ask all the questions when prospective tenants contact us via Openrent and we tell them they will be credit checked.
The words credit check weeds out about 50% of them immediately.
We also print a copy of the replies so that we can double-check the answers when they come to view, as we were shocked - SHOCKED I tell you - to discover some people lie and it is useful evidence to have answers to your questions to them in black and white…. xx
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Have you got any property in Northampton and Bedford please wales is 2 far me
I do exactly as Clive . When they lie they are not clever enough to remember what they said ! One lie and no letting to them
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It was also very useful when we had a surprise dog (which caused damage) when they assumed us they had no pets…
Sorry no Wales is all I have at the moment. Good luck with your search. Best wishes.
I had so many prospective tenants that I was a mite overwhelmed, so to help make some sense and find out who was serious I asked everyone to complete a 16 question vetting questionnaire. It was a mixture of the questionnaire provided by Openrent and a few more I added myself. Be careful with your questions, that is to say that you may not ask about DSS etc as that is discrimination, as is stated above. From the replies (some people did not reply, so that saved me some time) I selected those that I thought were serious prospective tenants, who could afford my property. These I then offered (as we were in the midst of Covid, but I would continue to do the same to keep us all safe) a virtual tour via whatsapp (you can use any other video system) where I gave them a conducted tour to enable them to get a feel for the property as well as allowing me to ask any further questions I wanted and check the answers to the questionnaire… This method also saved me hanging around waiting for no shows. I told those that I felt were the best fit for my property and that I would be able to work with etc, that I would like them to visit the property and because of Covid, they could go round on their own, whilst I waited outside. That way I ended up with 5 good prospective tenants and the tenants I offered it to have been there for over a year now.
This method is a mite longwinded, but you can leave out steps if you wish.
I avoid people who offer the deposit upfront not having seen the place, as I don’t like being hustled into letting to the first person who comes long. Similarly I had someone offer £100 per month less than the asking rent sight unseen, which I refused
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We also ask why leaving previous address
Previous landlords name, email and phone numbers. If less than 2 years, landlord before their current one
In Wales they are easy to reference as all landlords have to be registered
Advise credit check will be conducted .
Always, always cross check what you’re being told. We had our fingers burned once. So don’t feel guilty checking. It’s not fool proof, but it increases your success rate.
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Prescreening Questions:
- When are you looking to move in ?
- How many people will move into the property ?
- What is your relation to any co-tenants ?
- The rent is £@@@ pcm. How will you pay the rent? (i.e. employed income, self-employed income, savings, benefits, someone else will pay, etc.)
- What is your annual income ?
- Can you provide a guarantor if required ?
- Can you provide past landlord and employer references ?
- Do you have pets ?
- Do you or anyone that will be living at the property smoke?
You can also include your prescreening questions in your listing as an autoreply that will be sent to anyone requesting a viewing.
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I ask three questions at the enquiry stage in Open Rent to screen for viewings:
What are your current circumstances?
Who will be moving in?
What is your household income?
The first question is an open question and if you let tenants answer that in their own way you often yield a bit more.
You can decline people at this stage if you are unhappy with their income level or source by saying they will be unlikely to satisfy referencing (unless they have a guarantor) so you won’t proceed.
If I then view with people I find chatty questioning the most informative as they often give you more than you asked for.
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I was in a similar situation last year. I handed out questions below after viewings to enable me to shortlist. Was a great help.
- Do you currently rent, and if so, where?
- How long have you lived in your current home?
Why are you looking for a new place to live? - What date would you want to move in?
- What kind of work do you do, part/full time, temp/
permanent contract?
What is a rough estimate of your income?
How many people would be living with you?
8. How many people living with you smoke?
9. How many pets do you have?
10.Do you think your current landlord will give you a
favourable reference?
11. Does your current landlord know you are thinking of
moving?
12.Have you ever had an eviction?
13.Are there any issues I should know about before I run a
background screening for all the adults in the
household?
14 Have you ever filed for bankruptcy?
15. Will you be fine to pay our holding deposit of £? it
successful tenant?
16. Would you be able to pay the security deposit of £1?
or £? if pets
17. Do you have any questions for me about the process?
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Single most important question: what are the current jobs of all applicants and total combined income. As a rule of thumb, the total income should be at least 3x total rent. Extremely important to formally reference. There are lots of potential tenants out there who are homeless/ sofa surfing/ in temporary accommodation. Once they get into your property, it can take 6-12 months to evict them. The law is weighted in the tenants’ favour.
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It might be worth mentioning that many of the questions suggested are unlawful discrimination.
It’s worth bearing in mind, that just like an employer, a housing contract is covered by anti-discrimination law. It might be worth thinking to yourself “if I was asked this in a job-interview would I think it’s appropriate?” If not think twice before asking it.
It’s highly worrying that no one has mentioned that yet.
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What questions are discrimination? Please advise.
The obvious one is “no dss” this is outright unlawful (this was mentioned above to be fair).
I walked away from renting a place, because the Landlord questionnaire included questions about mental illness. I have never had a mental illness, but the question was overtly discriminatory against the disabled. I’m pretty certain that if I had suffered from a mental disability, I would have sued.
My personal problem, as I keep saying (in different threads), is that many landlords (unwittingly) discriminate against orphans. All this talk of “unless they have a guarantor”, basically sounds like “no orphans”, to me. The only people who would possibly guarantee your rent is an older relative. If you don’t have one, it’s REALLY hard to rent. In my case, I don’t think that a discrimination claim is possible, as being an orphan is not a protected characteristic. I suspect it would be, if people actually realized that people were sick enough to use it as reason to turn people down.
If any of your questions are biased against a protected characteristic, you are acting unlawfully by asking it.
https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/equality-act/protected-characteristics
Just like many online forums, I find housing forums are filled a great degree of anger and prejudice towards many in society. It is an easy place to go and vent political opinions that otherwise would be considered “distasteful”. The internet breeds trolls and extremism, and that is as true here as it is anywhere else.
No DSS policies are unlawful discrimination
The courts have ruled that ‘no DSS’ policies are unlawful because they indirectly discriminate against women and disabled people.
UPDATE:
“Do you have dependant children”?
Would you be pleased if an employer asked this? I suspect not. I would suspect this is a discriminatory question.
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Unless have a guarrantor means "no orphans " Ridiculous statement…A guarrantor has to be older… not true, Amount of income or savings… is the only factor with a guarrantor … You say MANY of the questions are discriminatory and then you cite ONE. I think I know why you cannot find a place to suit.you
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Unless have a guarantor means "no orphans " Ridiculous statement…
Trust me, it makes it really hard. I wish it wasn’t.
think I know why you cannot find a place to suit.you
Or in fact any place.
I believe you are reacting this way, because my view point, makes you feel uncomfortable about your own opinions. As I said trolling and extremism are the way of the internet, and personal attacks do not really prove your point.
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landlord should ask about dependant children as a property must be child safe. This is , not discrimination. It is a safety issue’ , more so if kids are young. If anyone wants to know that I have 5 children ,I am not bothered. and at least 500 people have employed me over 50 years.
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I’m ignoring Profile - Colin3 - OpenRent Community | Landlord Forum obvious trolling, and make a point about lying too.
On the subject of tenants who lie. I have lied on application forms (sort of). I got so desperate one time, that I put the cemetery of where my parents are buried as “next of kin”. Sometimes people lie, because the question is stupid, or irrelevant, or sometimes just because the answer is complex.
It’s like when people ask me “where are you from”. Do you mean where I was born? Where I lived with my parents? Where I went, after my parents died? It’s complex, and sometimes it’s just easier to lie. I don’t think it makes me a bad person, it’s just hard to cope with look you get when people realize the truth.
Most of the answers on this board are about proving how clever you are, by catching people out. I am just trying to raise the point that “cleverness” is sometimes ignorance.
When I interview people at work, I only care about if they can do they job. All the rest; whether they turn up on time; how they dress, is just about communicating and good management. That stuff is easy. No amount of questionnaires or background checks (as if Homelet have access to the CIA database, like they pretend), can ever really fully protect you from a good liar. But those who can do the job, will do the job. It’s just easier. It’s human nature?
Surely it’s the same for renting. If your tenant can pay the rent, they will pay the rent, irrespective of how many parents (or children) they have.
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No one has friends rich enough to pay their rent AND someone else’s, not at today’s rent rates, and they did have that much money, why wouldn’t they buy a second house and rent it to you themselves?
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Sorry I fell for the troll bait… Yes, discriminating on the grounds of children is unlawful, unless there is an immutable reason for it. Children are more likely to live with a mother, than a father, and so it’s sexual discrimination. Just as it is in the workplace.
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You can’t ask questions about race religion culture immigration status and definitely not DSS take care with the questions as you will leave yourself wide open to a discriminatory complaint, at the end of the day there’s ways to remove undesirables from your shortlist.
Also bear in mind that applicants might be on social housing lists which can cause you issues if they want to move on. Good luck.
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