To be honest Colin3 I’m not sure the risk is greatly increased or reduced by doing exactly that.
It probably saves you a great deal of time and overthinking!
1 Like
True, it’s complex stuff though isn’t it? With real life consequences sometimes financial, sometimes for whole groups of people.
It is not complex if you want to keep it simple. Complexity comes into equation if you rush and panic let. I made mistakes by rushing in the past as clock was ticking. But now thinking like Colin3!
1 Like
Agreed Colin. Too long for me to invest the time. I’ve just been by-passing & muting them once I see an essay.
1 Like
Once again, there are years, decades of criticism of psychometric tests. Humans are complex, they way they respond in one situation is different to another.
Abuse of one kind or another sets up reactions that are not standard to anyone.
These reactions can be carried through into other situations where they are not helpful, but they can also be left behind over time.
Reactions to difficult situations are not the same as low empathy, as with neurodiverse conditions not knowing how to respond, or not responding in the correct manner for particular person (cognitive empathy) is not the same as not sharing their pain, concern, worry (emotional empathy)
Reductionist testing which can be manipulated and falsified is not to be used for anything beyond personal entertainment/reflection. It’s 2025 not 1925.
You can’t guess what someone will be like, or is like away from you by asking vague questions or putting someone in a situation that stresses them out. It’s unethical and not generalisable to normal relationships.
I have not got my head around some of the big words I only got 4 GCE s I see how long the post is and then decide whether to give my answer. I get bored very easily I have too many other things to think about , such as Why do I have so many odd socks? How come the people in Australia are not upside down? and why am I replying to this?
3 Likes
Tenants are either Meryl Streep or Robert De Niro before they are offered the tenancy.
1 Like
We use these evaluations today in industry to protect from a toxic environment and also select risk takers
Each trait has advantages and disadvantages .
This is, after all , a work environment for the landlord . Why would you knowingly take on a toxic customer?With the removal of s21 people will scrutinise more than ever
There are seasoned landlords on this forum that tell newbies never take tenants from the local authority
We all know that those are the tenants no one wants and even the local authority are trying to offload them into others
If that is not an indicator of indirect psychometric evaluation I don’t know what is?
Low empathy is not an issue. Duplicity, gas lighting manipulation are real problems . It has now been published emotional abuse is more toxic than physical abuse as it’s invisible.
An extreme example , but would you want Mick Phillpott as a tenant ?
Until you are on the receiving end of this level of toxicity I don’t think you can comprehend how horrific it is.
1 Like
HI S1121, So great to hear your points. I did a post about this recently.
As an ex Residential Sales Agent, I know how Letting Agents work. Currently the letting agents who are using “Goodlord” referencing company are the worst. I have actually reported them to the FCA for their discriminatory affordability criteria.
Agents are their clients, they also sell insurance to the agents landlords. They set ridiculously out of reach affordability criteria, at a time where most people are using 50% or more of their income on their housing costs due to higher mortgages and rents.
If a tenant does not pass their criteria, the insurance company they use wont give the landlord their insurance…so you see the, “ill scratch your back if you scratch mine” thing going on all the while many tenants are being left out in the cold quite literally.
Despite how much people are having to increase their housing costs currently Goodlord are setting their criteria so that tenants have to only spend 30% of their income on housing, meaning the tenant has to earn much more just to rent a much smaller property or will have to move out of their area. All of this is just to keep a risk adverse landlord super happy and the agents pockets lined because at the end of the day what a tenant choses to spend on their rent and managing their own money should be up to them and not dictated to by an unregulated referencing company to decide what they can afford.
These practices I believe have contributed massively to the housing crisis where many many tenants are being made homeless it is a shockingly disgusting state of affairs.
Agent reject a tenant and blame their referencing company rejecting you, the referencing company say “oh its not us its ultimately the landlords and agents decision”. Well they can all hide behind this and pass the buck whilst indirectly discriminating.
I have brought this all to my MP’s attentions and so should all you tenants out there so that we can stamp this out once and for all.
I want to post some documents but this cr*ppy site wont allow attachments
Absolutely spot on AA, and as I keep saying its the unregulated letting agents causing all the issues between both parties.
The property ombudsman are inundated apparently and cant cope and have been calling for years for them to be regulated properly.
Unfortunately it suited greedy right wing |Tory’s not to do so! Hopefully now we have a sane government who support all people this will change but tenants out there YOU NEED TO BE COMPLAINING YOU NEED to be protesting to your MP"s. enough is enough.
I dont see that it unreasonable for an insurer to not want rent to exceed 30% of income. They are under no obligation to offer insurance and will only do so if they expect it to be profitable, factoring in the risks.
Exactly the same applies to private landlords, they are under no obligation to provide property and will only do so if the income justifies the risk, the more risk the more income required and it gets to the point it just isn’t viable for a large number of people.
Is it fair on tenants who just need somewhere to live, absolutely not, but your complaints would be better placed to government to ensure more house building, particularly social, which would reduce market housing costs. Trying to force landlords to offer unviable tenancies isnt a solution. The protections offered to tenants, primarily a tenant that doesn’t pay takes circa 12 months to be evicted means landlords simply wont accept that tenants can choose what they think they can afford. If this process was sped up landlords are likely to be more flexible.
4 Likes
I do feel myself getting more Risk Adverse. Why would I not? The risks of being a Landlord are increasing with tighter regulations, and I need to minimise that risk.
I hope, now that we supposedly have a…
…they wont keep making it harder to be a Landlord, and I can continue to offer houses to all, not just those who I perceive to be the lowest risk.
Sadly, I don’t see much ‘sane’, and whilst some will continue to blame Landlords and Agents, you perhaps need to question the Government who are making the rules, which are making tenants lives more difficult.
3 Likes
This has landed under Karl, sorry it’s not aimed at you directly you also make a reasonable point.
Let’s explore this idea about getting the government to build more social housing.
I am in favour, I do think what’s sold needs replacing. The current landscape also needs it particularly for families.
However… If they suddenly decide right we’re done with all tweaking, legislating, discussion we’re going to build.
What would happen then?
-
Everyone’s house (landlord and owner occupier) would be worth significantly less. Some would go into negative equity.
-
It would be more difficult to get good long term tenants as those groups ineligible for council would be young working couples who’s lives change and move on.
-
It would be more of a tenants market. Decor and condition would need to be better despite shorter tenancies. You already see this in lets where the competition is not ferocious. First the standard goes up, then the price goes down, then the same adverts stay up for prolongued periods. Which for the landlord means vacant weeks.
Of course you are free to choose whatever tenant you like. No one would ever know if you simply decided you didn’t like so and so’s green jumper.
My continued point is filtering on arbitrary groupings, where actually the constituents of those groups are being altered by new legislation and political tinkering all the time isn’t an effective way to risk assess it’s just not that simple. People and their lives are not that simple.
My feeling is the government in some ways are doing a lot for you. They don’t want the stress of a housing crash, but I would ask you to use your current power responsibly because they also don’t want half the population on the street.
To A_A in relation to council tenants
In some ways I understand your concern here, in others I don’t think you can generalise. The Local Councils now have that responsibility from the moment of s21 being issued. It’s not like before when tenants could be in the house for 12 months and were forced to wait for bailiffs. That was unfair on everyone.
If tenants know to ask for help at the beginning, it’s likely councils will be looking for a placement right from the start. This says nothing about the caliber of tenant.
Actually it might say they had a no fault eviction and were savvy enough to look for themselves and enlist council help at the earliest opportunity. Both parties seem to be aware that the independent looking is tough going.
I think your throw away comments might put others off for the wrong reasons. You do have influence, far more than me I expect.
To Colin,
I didn’t mean to filter on education either, people can be just as successful without it. It’s another arbitrary factor because people’s lives change all the time, but in reference to your other point…
It’s the washing machine monster that eats them, haven’t you heard the growl? He likes to get his 5 a day so has a preference for a variety of colours. If you buy all black he won’t eat them but your sock drawer will be super boring!
1 Like
To A_A
I’m afraid watered down versions of psychometric tests are used in industry because very clever people with few personal ethics have found a brilliant way to make money from people who don’t know any better.
Everyone likes to think the simplest explanations are the best, so it’s easy to sell, and backed up by TV which helps. They aren’t even delivered in accordance with the directions in most cases. Who in the world knows how to answer a likert scale?! I sure don’t. It’s just manipulation and if you’ve bought into it I’m sorry.
I’m also slightly saddened by how many toxic people you seem to think there are (though you aren’t alone in having a string of bad luck). I hope you meet more nice ones going forward, they are around, I’m certain of it.
I choose tenants this way > DO I like you? Can you afford it/ What is my gut instinct?
3 Likes
I think in all honesty that’s probably the fairest and best policy.
I suppose it depends on the judgment of affordability as previous discussions.
It’s a relationship, people need to get on and there is emotion bound up in homes and houses, so they need to get on well.
they have to like me as well. When i used to do a lot of building work in peoples homes they where judging me , but I was also checking them out .DId I like them. I can remember one chap telling his wife to shut up, in front of me! If I was to do his job how would he talk to me? I told him I did not want to do his job
1 Like
Here’s an actual example. In summer 2022, when I advised my benefit receiving tenant that I unfortunately would be selling my btl that she lived in, giving lots of notice of my intentions. She called Harrow council who told her straight up that if she left she would have made herself homeless and they would not help. They advised her to wait for a section 21 notice to be served, and then to ignore it until she was taken through the courts and evicted. Then Harrow council would house her and her kids. Luckily we had a good relationship and I helped find her an alternative private landlord.
4 Likes