References from previous landlords - how to get them?

Southern_Sadie

Hi,

Forgive me if this is a silly question, but I've never rented in the UK before (only abroad) and now that I'm flat-hunting in England, I was wondering: when prospective landlords want references, what format do they expect? A signed letter from my previous landlords? Or is it enough to pass on the previous landlords' contact details so they can ring up and check?

I have one previous landlord who speaks English, but he never replied to my request for a reference. The others don't speak English. Does anyone have any ideas what I can do? Would a character reference from my previous employer be any use? I'm a student now, to complicate things even more!

Thanks for reading!

theartfullodger

The prospective Landlord contacts the old Landlord themselves.

If a Landlord is presented with a nice reference from an old landlord, what would you think he'd do??

Just give prospective LL old LL's name & address. Howver, old LL cannot be forced to respond or provide a reference, of any nature (good or bad..)

Cheers!

Artful.

PS I always suggest the reference the new LL wants if the LL previous to the previous LL.. (previous/current LL may just want shot of dodgy tenant... not in your case obviously..)

tbs624

If the new LL uses a third party referencing agency the usual questions asked of a previous LL are along the lines of:

Did the T pay the rent in full and on time?
Did the T take care of the property?
Do you have any other comments to make about the T?
Would you recommend this T/ let again to this T

It's good practice to always ask whether the current/previous LL will give a reference *before* just plonking their name on a form ( and it does sound as though you tried)

Maybe you could try a proforma with the above questions and ask the LL to sign, date and give address/contact no for validation?

If you can get a character ref from an employer than can help but basically all a LL wants to know if you have sufficent income and will cough up your rent whilst refraining from wild house parties

Southern_Sadie

Thanks very much for the suggestions, they're really helpful!