Hi, I’m looking for advice. I rented my property through a reputable agency who did all required checks before tenant moved in. The tenant passed affordability checks based on the fact she would be paying rent six months in advance, however, tenant was self-employed and was not asked to submit earnings to fulfil affordability. Tenant subsequently went into arrears and the insurance refused to cover me based on the fact that the estate agents/referencing agents used did not hold earnings information on the tenant, despite the fact she had ‘passed’ affordability to move into the property. I feel I have been treated unfairly as I paid agency fees for the full referencing to be done properly and also paid for the insurance cover. Has anyone been through a similar situation or have any advice on how I should proceed?
Make a formal complaint to the agent and after a couple of weeks escalate the complaint to whichever redress scheme they belong to. Their ombudsman has the power to award you compensation if the agent has been negligent.
Its a common misconception that ‘rent paid in advance’ means that affordability doesn’t need as thorough check… but what happens when the ‘rent in advance’ runs out, if tenant cant afford to continue paying.
I agree with David122
it’s also a common misconception that letting agencies do things “properly”. At the end of the day, the buck stops with you as LL and having a letting agency simply means that instead of monitoring the tenant’s commitments and behaviour, you are instead responsible for monitoring the agency’s.
For future reference, when you get a letting agency to find you a tenant, request copies of all paperwork to be passed to you before you give the green light to the applicant. Never ever simply take the agency’s word that someone has passed referencing/affordability/etc to your satisfaction. They take instructions from you, not the other way round no matter if many would like to treat LLs that way and naive LLs let them.