letting agents and referencing agencys

Fuzzyness

hia. we're due to move out of current rented house in 4 weeks time and have found another property we'd like to move into. the issue we've got is that our relationship with current landlord has completely broken down and am now concerned about him giving us a dodgy reference when asked by new letting agent for new house, purely to spite us. now, can anyone let me know what is involved when a referencing agency would contact him. apart from the breakdown in relations over repairs etc, we've always paid our rent on time and the condition of the house is pretty much as we found it when moved in. is the key thing they are interested in the payment of rent or do they go into detail about what type of tenant we were etc. Luckily we have met the LL for the new house so if anything bad does come back we'd hope to be able to speak to her and show that there are always 2 sides to a story.

tbs624

The questions usually follow the line of :

How long has Mr A been a T with you?

Does he pay his rent in full and on time?

Does he take appropriate care of the property?

Would you let to this person again?

Would you recommend this person as a T?

Is there any other information you think we should know about this T?

You can presumably clearly show that you paid your rent on time and if you have inventory copies/photographic [edit:evidence] of former/current property on move in /move out you can generally see off any doubt about whether you looked after the property.

Fuzzyness

thanks tbs624. luckily we're only moving round the corner and the new LL lives close by so could come and see state of current property if needs be. i do foresee trouble though which is going to be a pain to sort out.

BitterAndTwisted

If you can prove that you paid the rent in full and on time, then I would explain to the prospective new landlord the reason for your relationship with your current landlord having broken down. I think lack of necessary repairs is a good reason for wanting out of a property, so perhaps this other landlord does too. Invite them round to where you are now by all means, so they can see that you are responsible tenants.

If you need any help with whatever this trouble on the horizon may be, just ask.

Was there an inventory when you moved in and all repair issues reported to the landlord in writing?

Fuzzyness

afraid no inventory on moving in and lines of communication slightly blurred by intermediary agent who has managed to confuse the issues somewhat. we'll see what they say and respond accordingly. my wife and i have rented for 27 years and 16 respectively and never have we come up against a LL like this.

G_M

Fuzzyness wrote: »

afraid no inventory on moving in
that is probobly to your advantage
.

Regarding refrence, if the new LL (or his agent) is asking for a previous LL reference, then best thing is to have a chat with new LL (who you say you know) and explain.

End of the day it is new LL who decides whether to let to you or not. The referencing agency, or letting agent, can advise him, or provide copies of references/ credit history reports, but these are just used to help him make his decision. He can ignore them if he wishes.

Fuzzyness

Thanks G_M. When we viewed the new property we mentioned that we'd had some issues with the current LL. think we may give the new LL a call and just reinforce that and to try and provide them with some more comfort that we're good tenants before the inevitable bad reference comes back.

AlexMac

As a landlord for about 15 years, I've had a variety of reference requests, from emails, to written tick-box pro-formas and once, a phone call from a referencing agent who had tick-box type Questions. I assume your new landlord's agent will also take up Credit Check, Bank and Employer references if they're doing their job; if not, offer these; Banks might charge you a few quid, but their reference will almost inevitably use the usual code and say X is 'good for this sum' (the rent) unless you're a financial disaster! One issue of possible interest; employment references are now generally guarded because a legal 'duty of care' precedent has been established in law- your ex employer cannot diss you without evidence such as a record of sickness absence or a disciplinary on your file. Maybe you could remind your LL of his obligation to tell the truth, his 'duty of care' and drop the implicit threat of court action for any financial damage likely to arise from a bad ref- such as the need for a bigger deposit or for you to have to advance a full 6-months rent in advance (which a new LL might reasonably ask for from a dodgy tenant). Research 'small claims court' as that's a low-cost DIY approach to the law. I don't know if it covers landlord n tenant stuff, but even if not true he'll maybe think twice.

And to make the point that you will stand no carp, you could also ask yr existing agent to confirm that (unless it was taken several years agogo before the TDS law came in) that the deposit is secured as now legally required in the TDS (Tenancy deposit scheme) and what the appeals/arbitration system is if the LL cuts up rough- which he'll find it hard to do in the absence of an inventory and independent inventory check-out report. Good luck

AlexMac

Oops- I meant TDP (tenant deposit protection) not TDS

It_can_get_better

You could ask your existing landlord for a positive reference, as if you are given an unfair bad one you won't be able to move, so they'll have to take you to court to get a possession order, which could end up taking months and cost a lot of money.

Fuzzyness

It_can_get_better wrote: »

You could ask your existing landlord for a positive reference, as if you are given an unfair bad one you won't be able to move, so they'll have to take you to court to get a possession order, which could end up taking months and cost a lot of money.

that had crossed my mind but not sure i can be dealing with the stress of that.