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why is only the tenants that have to provide references?

lisa-loves-cats
Posts: 66 Forumite
Hi,
We recently sold our property and temporaily moved into rented, as we are still looking for the next 'dream' house. Many circumstances meant we took a property that wasn't wonderful, just basic, but it had what we needed and more importantly, accepted our 5 beloved cats.
After living there for a period of 2 months, certain maintenance issues began to become apparent, but then the worst possible thing happened. A ceptic tank lacked such maintenance that the lid had corroded and collapsed..... you probably know where this is going..... one of my cats fell in and drowned in the worst imaginable way. Needless to say we were devastated
and after we pulled his body out, my husband quickly placed a piece of hard board he found with a rock on top before we lost any others. Obviously we told the agents the next day who informed the landlady, who, by the way, lived in the adjoining property. 4 months later we moved out, she never fixed this and the same piece of hardboard with the rock was still in place the day we moved out.
I know some people may say, 'it's just a cat' but god forbid, it could have been a small child, thankfully my little one was barely crawling at the time.
Upon vacating the property, I reported the numerous maintenance issues to the agents, and told them that I felt sorry for any future tenants as these issues didn't become apparent until you have signed a contract and moved in.
Their response to this was:
"In connection with the other points you raised we discuss maintenance issues with all our Landlords prior to doing the work and then undertake repairs etc as directed by them."
I know for a fact that this property has already been rented out again and the issues I raised have not been addressed.
My point simply is, why is it only the tenants that have to produce references?
If potential tenants could have access/contact to previous tenants, they are surely the only ones that can give a true account of the property and the agents/landlord who managed it.
Badly behaved and badly managed properties could soon be weeded out.
I feel so strongly about this that I have been tempted to write a letter to the new tenants to warn them.
There is more to this story, but I didn't want to make it even more long-winded than it already is
We recently sold our property and temporaily moved into rented, as we are still looking for the next 'dream' house. Many circumstances meant we took a property that wasn't wonderful, just basic, but it had what we needed and more importantly, accepted our 5 beloved cats.
After living there for a period of 2 months, certain maintenance issues began to become apparent, but then the worst possible thing happened. A ceptic tank lacked such maintenance that the lid had corroded and collapsed..... you probably know where this is going..... one of my cats fell in and drowned in the worst imaginable way. Needless to say we were devastated

I know some people may say, 'it's just a cat' but god forbid, it could have been a small child, thankfully my little one was barely crawling at the time.
Upon vacating the property, I reported the numerous maintenance issues to the agents, and told them that I felt sorry for any future tenants as these issues didn't become apparent until you have signed a contract and moved in.
Their response to this was:
"In connection with the other points you raised we discuss maintenance issues with all our Landlords prior to doing the work and then undertake repairs etc as directed by them."
I know for a fact that this property has already been rented out again and the issues I raised have not been addressed.
My point simply is, why is it only the tenants that have to produce references?
If potential tenants could have access/contact to previous tenants, they are surely the only ones that can give a true account of the property and the agents/landlord who managed it.
Badly behaved and badly managed properties could soon be weeded out.
I feel so strongly about this that I have been tempted to write a letter to the new tenants to warn them.
There is more to this story, but I didn't want to make it even more long-winded than it already is

0
Comments
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I do feel for what you have gone through, indeed just as there are bad tenants there are equally bad landlords to match. I think there are sites that name and shame bad landlords? I guess in the long term there can be sites that name landlords, then sites that can name tenants, it all ends up back at the same spot! The letting agent in your case is paid by the landlord so can only make recommendations to them.
It would be nice if there were regulations in place for landlords the same as there are for tenants (ie: previous reference, checks etc) but for now it seems you have suffered a terrible loss at the hands of a bad landlord and it will help you in future to avoid a similar situation. Sometimes it's best to go with a well respected letting agent, who generally get the better landlords as they charge higher fees who are much more aware of protecting their reputation and might do more for you if a difficult or dangerous situation arises. You could try talking to your council maybe about this, as it could be a danger to the current tenants.MFW #185
Mortgage slowly being offset! £86,987 /58,742 virtual balance
Original mortgage free date 2037/ Now Nov 2034 and counting :T
YNAB lover0 -
I think in general tenants are asked for references etc for several reasons -
1. They're left in possession of a significantly costly item (the house)
2. They are agreeing to a financial commitment, something the landlord may rely on for paying the mortgage/living off
3. Because the landlord can, they're in the position of power and have something you want.0 -
lisa-loves-cats wrote: »My point simply is, why is it only the tenants that have to produce references?
Tentants are getting landlords to produce references
"Wary tenants change terms of reference on landlords"
http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2009...ting-mortgages
"A more comprehensive check, which costs £30.88, looks at a landlord's contract of employment, earnings and character references."
"This should not pose a problem for landlords if they have nothing to hide," says Entwistle. "In fact, if either party seems keen to withhold information, it should ring alarm bells anyway."RENTING? Have you checked to see that your landlord has permission from their mortgage lender to rent the property? If not, you could be thrown out with very little notice.
Read the sticky on the House Buying, Renting & Selling board.0 -
lisa-loves-cats wrote: »My point simply is, why is it only the tenants that have to produce references?
Tentants are getting landlords to produce references
"Wary tenants change terms of reference on landlords"
http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2009...ting-mortgages
"tenants are demanding references from landlords. Struggling buy-to-let landlords are eating humble pie when it comes to finding tenants. Checks and references traditionally carried out on tenants to assess their reliability in paying up are now being reversed as renters seek assurances the owner of their new home is legitimate and not on the verge of being repossessed."
"A more comprehensive check, which costs £30.88, looks at a landlord's contract of employment, earnings and character references."
"This should not pose a problem for landlords if they have nothing to hide," says Entwistle. "In fact, if either party seems keen to withhold information, it should ring alarm bells anyway."RENTING? Have you checked to see that your landlord has permission from their mortgage lender to rent the property? If not, you could be thrown out with very little notice.
Read the sticky on the House Buying, Renting & Selling board.0 -
I sympathise deeply - both about your cat, and the landlord referencing.
Actually there is no reason you, as a prospective tenant, should not ask for details of your prospective LL.
Proof he has his mortgage lender's permission to let.
References from previous tenants
Proof of insurance
etc
But as Blacksheep says, the LL is handing over the keys to a "significantly costly item "0 -
MissMoneypenny wrote: »Tentants are getting landlords to produce references
"Wary tenants change terms of reference on landlords"
http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2009...ting-mortgages
"A more comprehensive check, which costs £30.88, looks at a landlord's contract of employment, earnings and character references."
"This should not pose a problem for landlords if they have nothing to hide," says Entwistle. "In fact, if either party seems keen to withhold information, it should ring alarm bells anyway."
"Tom Entwistle, managing director of TenantVerify.co.uk, a tenant checking service, said: ..." (Also of LLZone) Kerching!! Double the number of checks being coughed up for.
Getting one of these done on your LL ( in the unlikely event of your LL signing his/her consent for you to do so) would be of less use to a T than talking to a previous tenant, checking over the property thoroughly *before* signing up and checking for yourself that the LL has consent to let.0 -
Lisa - its obviously very distressing for you to lose a pet in such a manner but did you not look round the property before you signed up to live there? A cess pit cover doesn't disintegrate in the space of just two months.
Yes, LLs absolutely should maintain their rental properties in a good safe condition but Ts also need to make their own checks, before they move in, after they move in and on an ongoing basis throughout the tenancy.
Any T who has problems with repairs/maintenance at a rented property should raise them *in writing* to the LL/LA asap and if prompt action is not forthcoming , contact the private sector TRO at the local council. Provided that a specific procedure is followed (Shelter has guidance) a T may also undertake repairs and recover the cost from future rent if the the LL fails to act.
You say :
"Upon vacating the property, I reported the numerous maintenance issues to the agents"
If there were "numerous issues" you should have raised each and everyone of them during your tenancy *in writing* to the LA ( keeping a copy of your letter) and when you had the LL living next door you surely had the opportunity to discuss matters direct.0 -
But as Blacksheep says, the LL is handing over the keys to a "significantly costly item "
I think this is misleading and just an excuse. The landlord may well hand over the keys to a 'significantly costly item', however the Tenants quality of life for the duration of the tenancy directly depends on the landlord holding up their end of the bargain, so is just as impacted (if not more so) by the behaviour of the other party.
The only reason tenants don't usually ask for references is that they are not yet organised enough so don't have the bargaining power. As above this does look like it is changing which can only be a good thing.0 -
Lisa - its obviously very distressing for you to lose a pet in such a manner but did you not look round the property before you signed up to live there? A cess pit cover doesn't disintegrate in the space of just two months.
Yes of course we did, however the property sat on a plot of 5 acres and we weren't even aware that there was a cesspit at the property.Yes, LLs absolutely should maintain their rental properties in a good safe condition but Ts also need to make their own checks, before they move in, after they move in and on an ongoing basis throughout the tenancy.
Any T who has problems with repairs/maintenance at a rented property should raise them *in writing* to the LL/LA asap and if prompt action is not forthcoming , contact the private sector TRO at the local council. Provided that a specific procedure is followed (Shelter has guidance) a T may also undertake repairs and recover the cost from future rent if the the LL fails to act.
You say :
"Upon vacating the property, I reported the numerous maintenance issues to the agents"
If there were "numerous issues" you should have raised each and everyone of them during your tenancy *in writing* to the LA ( keeping a copy of your letter) and when you had the LL living next door you surely had the opportunity to discuss matters direct.
During the 3 month spot check, I did raise the point that the cesspit drain cover had still not been repaired and I was told that they would report this back at the office. Admittedly so, I am new to renting, and in hindsight, I realise that I should have put the issues in writing, but by month 4, we had already decided that the property was not for us and to move out. I went to the agents 6 weeks before the end of the tenancy to pre-warn them of our plans, in case they had any other properies on their books that we could move to. My thinking at the time was that it would be easier to stay with the agents as I wouldn't then need to go through all the reference procedure again. During this visit with the agents, they asked me why we were moving out which was when I first told them about the other mainenance issues, again, now I know, I should have put this in writing.0 -
I agree with OP completely. There are ways a tenant can with a bad landlord but there are also ways of dealing with a bad tenant - but LLs still want references, for which tenants are paying themselves by the way.
I lived in a few rented properties and although I was lucky with most of landlords it would have been nice for ME to be reassured too that I was not entering into a costly renting agreement without safeguarding myself. Yes, the landlord is handing over the keys for his properties, but I am making a financial commitment too - and depending on the T&C the earliest I can get out of it is after 6 months. Not to mention MY expense for moving and repeated reference/admin fees if I want to exercise my right and move away from the bad landlord.
I once rented privately and the LL was acting by the book which is good - but just to think what was in that book for THEIR piece of mind. The LL wanted both my and my husband's payslips AND reference from employer AND reference from my two previous landlords AND bank statements for the past 6 months AND credit reference check. How many times over was I supposed to prove that I had a job, an income and was paying my rent on time? When did I ever get a proof that they would be a good landlord doing repairs on time? They were a first time landlord - if they were a first time renter it might not be easy!
I would absolutely support an initiative - if it ever becomes an initiative - to introduce compulsory checks and references for landlords. It is only fair and justified by the volume of problems good tenants are experiencing with LLs.0
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