Landlord trouble

kirstyqueenbee

Could anyone offer any advise?

I have applied to join our local housing list due having our little girl in jan.
We already have a 9 year old son and live in a tiny terraced house which is getting smaller by the day we have lived here for over 5 years but now we need somewhere a bit better suited for us.

We contacted our landlady to ask her if she had any available properties for us when we found out we was expecting a girl, but she only has small 2 bed houses like ours.
So as i have said we went through the whole drama of applying to go on the waiting list for our local housing. After waiting nearly 2 months and having no response from them i rang them and asked was there a problem with our application?? i couldn`t see what we both work full time no criminal convictions etc so it came as a shock when i was told they were waiting for a reference off my landlady. I couldn`t understand why she hadnt replied, so my partner tried to ring her and ask why she hadn`t sent a reply, we have never missed rent day or caused any problems, but we can not get in touch with her, she lives over 100 mile away.

After contacting the local housing back and asking what i should do they said as well as all the paper work we have already handed in we now need 2 character references from professional people each and 12 months proof of rent. :mad:

Can my landlady not give me a reference for being a good tenant?? (as the lady on the phone said at the local housing-thats why she hasn`t gave you a reference because she doesn`t want you to go)

So after 7 months of forms being sent and photocopies sent in and now this, i can`t think of any professional people to give me a reference never mind two each. Any advise on this matter would be appreciated.

Benji

I am very sorry, there is no obligation at all for your landlord/lady to provide a reference. Some do happily, some don't for fear of saying the wrong thing, some do for a fee (which always hacks off tenants) and some don't - because that's their policy

References: Doctor, minister of religion, neighbour who is an accountant, librarian, kids teacher.

ViolaLass

If you both work (as you say you do) can't you get professional references through that?

jamie11

Benji wrote: »

References: Doctor, minister of religion, neighbour who is an accountant, librarian, kids teacher.

That really gets my goat! What's wrong with a reference from a good upstanding blue collar worker? Having to be referenced by somebody in a 'profession' harks back to the good old 'master and serf' days.

Good Grief, we'll be trusting Estate Agents next.

kirstyqueenbee

As the person above said i shouldn`t have to get professional references as we both work and the companies we work for are `professional` enough i have already asked. Thanks for your help though, its just frustrating after this long she won`t even write us a letter :eek:

I will ring her again but i don`t think anything will change. Thanks again

tbs624

kirstyqueenbee wrote: »

...........i was told they were waiting for a reference off my landlady. I couldn`t understand why she hadnt replied, so my partner tried to ring her and ask why she hadn`t sent a reply, we have never missed rent day or caused any problems, but we can not get in touch with her, she lives over 100 mile away.

After contacting the local housing back and asking what i should do they said as well as all the paper work we have already handed in we now need 2 character references from professional people each and 12 months proof of rent. :mad:

Can my landlady not give me a reference for being a good tenant?? (as the lady on the phone said at the local housing-thats why she hasn`t gave you a reference because she doesn`t want you to go)

So after 7 months of forms being sent and photocopies sent in and now this, i can`t think of any professional people to give me a reference never mind two each. Any advise on this matter would be appreciated.

You can presumably show from bank statements that you have paid your rent regularly and the fact that you have been with your current LL for 5 years indicate pretty clearly that you are reliable Ts: you would have been given notice if you weren't.

You say that your partner "tried to ring" the LL - how often has he tried? You could perhaps consider writing to her enclosed a stamped addressed envelope and a pre-drafted template reference for her to sign, date and return to you/direct to the Housing Office. It only needs to confirm the address of the property, the length of your tenancy, that you have always paid your rent on time and that you have taken care of the property.

The same two professional people should be able to provide refs for both of you, if necessary, and an individual employment reference should also be acceptable.

kirstyqueenbee wrote: »

We contacted our landlady to ask her if she had any available properties for us when we found out we was expecting a girl, but she only has small 2 bed houses like ours.

As you are currently with a private LL why don't you try for a larger property with other LLs within the private sector? Try the local LL asociation for contact info for LLs who self manage their properties and/or check whether the Council's private sector housing officer kee[s a list of "accredited" private LLs.

poppysarah

kirstyqueenbee wrote: »

So after 7 months of forms being sent and photocopies sent in and now this, i can`t think of any professional people to give me a reference never mind two each. Any advise on this matter would be appreciated.

Your doctor.
Your boss.
His boss
His doctor.
Your vicar.
Your neighbour who is a business owner.
The person who runs the first aid course you do... (ok so you might do a course/activity which is run by someone who would do you a reference)