I usually ask landlords to be able to contact their past/ current tenants for references,
I don’t see why this shouldn’t be the norm, they ask references about tenants so it’s logical to do the same. Just a thought for the community here …
The more people ask the more chances it becomes a common practice and we can avoid nightmare landlord and places …
I usually ask this in a nice and polite way as for me it seems quite reasonable to be able to ask the last tenant their opinion, conditions of the place, Communication etc
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I find that the tenants who ask the most questions are also the most conscientious.
Where possible i encourage that they speak with the current tenant and during viewings will leave them alone to talk.
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In my case, I’d be perfectly happy to do that. Sadly, I think it’s pointless though as it won’t prove anything.
Any dodgy LL would happily agree to this and either fake it themselves or just ask a mate to pretend to be a really happy former tenant. How would you know that the person was actually a former (or even existing) tenant? Faking an old AST is super easy.
By the way, former tenants would have to give their permission to be contacted in this way and some would not want to for totally genuine reasons. Also, a decent LL could have had a former tenant who was a nightmare through no fault of their own.
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of course, but it’s a two way street
It’s not about proving anything, it´s about honesty and trust
there are nightmare landlords with fake references, and nightmare tenants with fake ref.
I would rather believe that people are genuine and good first, plus of course there are also ways to double check …
am happy we agree on one thing…
and glad to hear because I am one who asks (bit too much maybe?) lots of questions and also give a lot of info.
I usually say " i own that one and that one feel free to ask them what sort of landlord i am ."
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Jazzys, have you had a bad experience with a landlord yourself?
much, much harder for tenants to fake all the paperwork and personal contacts required before I offer them a tenancy
well the idea is that no one should fake in the first place!
Very much so unfortunately…
I see no problem with asking questions of the outgoing tenant although as someone mentioned in a previous post there is an issue with GDPR if contacting tenants who have long gone.
Sorry to hear that. I hope you wont let it sour your view of the private rented sector or landlords in general. There is still lots of very good and caring practice out there.
If you want to share your story, there’s a space here.
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I completely agree with this, I’ve spoken to my neighbours and the damp problem and broken guttering has been like that for years.
I’ve had to run a dehumidifier in my bedroom and i have damp musty clothes all the time. And this has been a known problem and not fixed for years
Yes, we like current tenants to be present to reassure a potential tenant.
I am already asking the agencies for references because I want to change the apartment, but unfortunately my requests are lost in the air. How can I force agencies to issue references???
there is no legal requirements for a landlord or agent to give a reference.
are you asking for a reference in advance of moving?
Wlasnie tak bo starajac sie o nowe mieszkanie w agencjach typu WHG musze miec referencje od agencji w ktorej aktualnie mieszkam. Bez referencji stracilem juz 2 oferty mieszkania
I would be perfectly happy for you to ask my past or current tenants for references. They are free agents and whether they choose to help you in this way is nothing to do with me.
However I can’t give you their contact details as that would be a breach of their privacy and the Data Protection Law.
I’m not 100% sure of this but I think if I contacted them (using their contact data I am allowed to keep only for the the purposes of renting to them ) and asked them to provide a reference for me, that might also not be an allowable use of their contact info under the law . So I probably would not be willing to risk breaking the law on this by contacting them on your behalf unless there was significant benefit to them.
Having said this I think it is perfectly reasonable of you to want to do this and its a shame I would not be able to help you as I’m sure you’d get very good references from my tenants.
My properties are usually let within a week or so of becoming vacant and I usually have lots of potential tenants to chose from - so i’m also afraid if my former tenants or other did not reply by return you would probably lose the tenancy if you waited for a response more than a couple of days. That is just how it is …
BUT
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Pointless in this current rental and market conditions.
The way I see it , the Landlord holds all the cards.
- I’d certainly not be giving you details of my previous tenant. Chances are I may not have his forwarding address as I don’t need it for anything and even if I have them , I will not be handing them to a stranger who is not my tenant yet.
- If you are selected as a tenant and you feel reluctant to move in or agree to a move date so I can draw rental contract, you are waiting until you get your references back, I as a landlord would move to the next tenant as you are not ready to rent.
- If we have agreed a move in date , contract drawn, holding deposit paid, what use is the reference to you at this stage? If you don’t move in when you should because you are waiting for reference, that’s your problem. If you decide to back out, I will make sure you loose your full months rent. This will cover my administrative costs etc.
- As a tenant, you already have all the rights anyways, maybe tenants should also try and reference letting agents. Tell letting agents you want details of previous tenants to obtain references about the letting agent. I am sure they will be excited to work with you
My ASTs state that providing a forwarding address is required when leaving. Utilities always ask for it when notifying them of changes, and it’s courteous to at least forward mail for a few weeks.