Agent wants payslips, B,statements and holding deposit

ctrlaltdelete

We want to move soon. Been looking at a few places but the agent wants us to jump through hoops.

First of all they want a holding deposit 250 then they want us to pay for our own credit reference search.

I said no thank you I`m not interested in that you can do it if you like.

We have good earnings and can provide payslips b,statements etc.

But our credit rating is poor and will come back not so good.

They said I could pay 2 months deposit instead of 1.

I do not want to do that, but I said I could pay 3 or 4 months rent in advance.

Any advice?

moromir

The Agency don't want you to jump through hoops.

A holding deposit shows you are serious about the property, and covers the fact that it isn't marketed to other tenants while you are credit checked, basically it makes you think twice about wasting their time and not being upfront about any problems that might crop up with your check.

You are being trusted with an asset worth thousands of pounds, a credit check is not unreasonable, how much do they say this will cost?

Your reluctance to be credit checked is going to send alarm bells ringing and make the landlord extremely suspicious.

What do you mean, exactly, by you have a 'poor' credit rating? Agents are mostly concerned by outstanding CCJs rather than the odd missed payment.

theartfullodger

Any old twit can become a letting agent & some do...

The agent has told you what he needs before doing business with you. You do not have to agree but if you don't it is quite likely agent will decline to take matters further.

Many agents & some landlords would want to see similar stuff.

Me, I don't bother with holding deposits but I do want to see payslip(or similar) with NINO, copy of DL or Passport, private & work references.. etc etc.. I don't want it for the tenancy but I may need it later...Why all that c**p?? Well, should the tenant disappear whilst owing funds then I'll find it a lot easier to find them & engage with them in a free and frank exchange of views. If prospective tenant does not wish to do business on that basis I wish them God speed & goodbye.

Cheers!

Artful (LL since 2000)

PasturesNew

It's all perfectly normal. To be honest, it's one of the list of reasons I don't want to rent, I can't handle the intrusion, the sense of "being watched" and that awful feeling at the front of being judged.

The hoop jumping is standard practice for most agents though, so you either pony up with the info, or you find some other way to find somewhere to rent, from a LL who is less diligent and probably less professional.

Yes, it sucks.... but it's the way things are done these days.


Good luck.

theartfullodger

PN is right...

The weird thing is, no Tenant has ever asked me to (e.g.) either that I / or for me to prove that...
a) I am who I say I am..
b) I own the place
c) I have permission to rent it..
d) I have valid Landlord's insurance (rather important should the place burn down & tenants are 'orribly burned... as normal insurance won't cough up..)
etc
etc
etc..

Which I'd gladly prove if asked...


Cheers!

Artful

Joyful

Hi theartfullodger

I just had to say you've not me me lol. I host foreign language students, sometimes for a few months. After that they rent a property and bring their families across. When I've helped them find a property I get the Landlords to prove everything you mentioned. I have also had parts which were unfair taken out of the contracts.

tbs624

OP if you don't like how this LA operates then try another one or try renting direct from a private LL. Check the yellowpages for your local LL association or put your own "property wanted" advert into circulation.

Some of the info requested by LAs is understandable, with others it's the usual case of "the info is out there, we want to see it" , regardless of whether it actually fulfils a useful purpose.

The idea that seeing someone's current bank statements provides "proof" that they will necessarily be good for the rent is a nonsense. You can have two Ts - one with current a/c kept in the black, but who is busy accruing massive debts elsewhere, and one who has an authorised o/d which looks to be keeping them going but who has considerable saving stashed away elsewhere as a contingency fund. Idiot LA would probably go for the first....................

bristol_pilot

If you rent from a private landlord you will have none of these problems. Agents rip off tenants but the good news is they rip off landlords too so quite a few landlords don't use them.

Holding deposits are not all that common in the UK and are of doubtful legality - especially where a holding deposit has been taken from multiple tenants against the same property (who will then find that they have 'failed the credit check' and lost their deposits). This is a scam and possible fraud. Credit checks are becoming common but are unjustified because the tenant is not being offered credit (rent being paid in advance). Credit checks are useless as 'affordability checks' as they do not check income. The real reason for the credit check is so that the agent can charge a fee that vastly exceeds the cost of the check, which is most likely not done anyway. Do not give copies of bank statements or payslips to agents! You will be wide open to identity theft and fraud. If they really wanted to check your income, they would have asked for the name and address of your employer and your permission to disclose salary.

Rent from a private landlord and all you will pay is one month's rent in advance plus one month's rent as a deposit against damages. You will also get better value for your rent as the landlord will not be paying a agents fees.

moromir

bristol_pilot wrote: »

If you rent from a private landlord you will have none of these problems. Agents rip off tenants but the good news is they rip off landlords too so quite a few landlords don't use them.

A private landlord may be less likely to ask for a credit check but to state catagorically that you won't run into the same issues with a private landlord is poor advice.

bristol_pilot wrote: »

Holding deposits are not all that common in the UK and are of doubtful legality - especially where a holding deposit has been taken from multiple tenants against the same property (who will then find that they have 'failed the credit check' and lost their deposits). This is a scam and possible fraud.

Holding deposits are increasingly common and in many cities are already standard practice.

I cannot comment on the practice of multiple deposits against one property but suggest if such a practice is occuring then it is just as likely to happen with a private landlord as an agency. Tenants should take all available precautions, such as only using an agent registered with ARLA and obtaining written confirmation that the holding deposit is refundable should the property become unavailable. In addition the tenant should request a copy of the checks carried out in order that they can see why they have failed the check if this is the case.

bristol_pilot wrote: »

Credit checks are becoming common but are unjustified because the tenant is not being offered credit (rent being paid in advance). Credit checks are useless as 'affordability checks' as they do not check income.

I think the term 'credit check' is bounded about as the 'accepted term' and that it has been taken too literally in this case. People will often refer to a 'credit check' when they actually mean 'referencing', usually by a company like Letsure or CheckMyTenant etc. These procedures do check affordability by contacting the employer to ascertain a tenant's salary or the Council to confirm the level of LHA. Affordability is then usually calcuated as a percentage of the total income, my experience of this is limited but when I have been referenced, my affordability has been determined as 40% of my income.

bristol_pilot wrote: »

The real reason for the credit check is so that the agent can charge a fee that vastly exceeds the cost of the check, which is most likely not done anyway.

Again, this is not something you can state with certainty. Tenants should again take all reasonable precautions, always ask for a list of fees and charges upfront before giving a holding deposit and take responsibility themselves for deciding whether they feel these fees are reasonable before proceeding.

bristol_pilot wrote: »

Do not give copies of bank statements or payslips to agents! You will be wide open to identity theft and fraud. If they really wanted to check your income, they would have asked for the name and address of your employer and your permission to disclose salary.

Most referencing agencies will take the employer's details and contact them direct, but this isn't possible when a tenant is self employed and has not yet filed accounts. In this situation it would seem logical to request bank statements to confirm income.

bristol_pilot wrote: »

Rent from a private landlord and all you will pay is one month's rent in advance plus one month's rent as a deposit against damages. You will also get better value for your rent as the landlord will not be paying a agents fees.

Again, sweeping statements you cannot possibly justify as you do not speak for every private landlord in the country. I'm not sure how you arrive at the conclusion that the tenant recieves better value for money by the landlord not paying agent's fees, surely then it is the landlord receiving better value for his rent by letting privately?

charlie792

I had to pay ridiculous fees and give my estate agent a stupid amount of information but they are perfectly allowed to ask for it...

£195 admin fee for credit checks - non refunadable

£400 deposit

£400 rent up front

plus they needed 3 months bank statements of me and my OH and 3 months wage slips, also as I am a student I had to give them proof of my loan entitlement

voytovdwiof

My rental went like so:

Expressed interest in the property
Paid £150 "holding fee" which meant they refused any other viewings while they:
£150 for a reference check, outsourced
Then once the reference check came back OK, I paid my deposit which was £650, but the "holding fee" is added to that so I paid £500 for the deposit and then £550 first months rent.