Room Renting & Bank Statements

SolentSal

Good Evening all, newbie here with a first post! Pleasure to be part of the forum!

So my partner and I are looking to rent a double room in a professional house share for a short period (whilst awaiting the Brexit outcome/chaos before buying, but that’s another debate!). We’ve found a suitable place, all very clean and tidy and populated by decent working professionals. Landlord is very thorough, operates as a business and undertakes full referencing, both with an external agency and with their own additional measures. LL has requested that we submit three months of payslips and bank statements, directly to their business as well as completing the referencing forms. Nothing unusual in that, we duly provided the info from our banking app showing balance and in/out totals (we have a joint account and our income is healthy and perfectly adequate for the rent). However, they are now requesting itemised statements, and have specifically stated that it is their policy to read through and make their own assessment of an individuals’ transactions. They mention that they look for ‘issues’ such as gambling habits and such. There is nothing on the statements that we wish to hide, but we both feel that it’s deeply intrusive for a LL and their business to be sifting through each and every transaction on a person’s bank statement - we’re looking to rent a room for six months, not asking for a mortgage to buy the house! Our income is clearly verifiable via payslips and statement overviews, and one would assume a rent contract provides the appropriate legal protection for the LL (as well as us, of course!). I fail to see any justifiable reason for a LL to need to know precisely when I buy a Costa or how much fuel I put in the car last tuesday! The LL seems perfectly decent, they have appropriate records at Companies House and a corresponding profile on LinkedIn, but I still feel this is going too far. They’ve also asked for further statements from a savings account, which I see no obvious reason for. There is of course also a security angle, it’s a huge package of personal information being handed over (employment info, bank details, passport and I.D....it’s a fraudster’s Christmas present!).

So a couple of questions, all thoughts welcome! Is this normal now for basic houseshares? Are we being overly delicate, or would other forumites feel equally peeved at being asked to give a total stranger access to your entire everyday spending history? Are we being reasonable in politely declining to provide this info (accepting that we may not get the room if the LL takes umbrage)?

And, perhaps more importantly, if we and the LL don’t agree and we don’t take the room, is there any potential comeback with the referencing company? I’d assume their referencing process is entirely separate to the LL asking for other details, but we don’t want some sort of black mark which may later affect a mortgage application.

Many thanks all for your insightful wisdom!

G_M

It seem way over the top intrusive tome.


But unfortunately you may find that refusing loses you theproperty.

Comms69

SolentSal wrote: »

Good Evening all, newbie here with a first post! Pleasure to be part of the forum!

So my partner and I are looking to rent a double room in a professional house share for a short period (whilst awaiting the Brexit outcome/chaos before buying, but that’s another debate!). We’ve found a suitable place, all very clean and tidy and populated by decent working professionals. Landlord is very thorough, operates as a business and undertakes full referencing, both with an external agency and with their own additional measures. LL has requested that we submit three months of payslips and bank statements, directly to their business as well as completing the referencing forms. Nothing unusual in that, we duly provided the info from our banking app showing balance and in/out totals (we have a joint account and our income is healthy and perfectly adequate for the rent). However, they are now requesting itemised statements, and have specifically stated that it is their policy to read through and make their own assessment of an individuals’ transactions. They mention that they look for ‘issues’ such as gambling habits and such. - because this is relevant to the LL how? It's perfectly reasonable to gamble, drink or even smoke... There is nothing on the statements that we wish to hide, but we both feel that it’s deeply intrusive for a LL and their business to be sifting through each and every transaction on a person’s bank statement - we’re looking to rent a room for six months, not asking for a mortgage to buy the house! - indeed. Our income is clearly verifiable via payslips and statement overviews, and one would assume a rent contract provides the appropriate legal protection for the LL (as well as us, of course!). I fail to see any justifiable reason for a LL to need to know precisely when I buy a Costa or how much fuel I put in the car last tuesday! The LL seems perfectly decent, they have appropriate records at Companies House and a corresponding profile on LinkedIn, but I still feel this is going too far. They’ve also asked for further statements from a savings account, which I see no obvious reason for. There is of course also a security angle, it’s a huge package of personal information being handed over (employment info, bank details, passport and I.D....it’s a fraudster’s Christmas present!). - indeed.

So a couple of questions, all thoughts welcome! Is this normal now for basic houseshares? - no, this isnt normal for renting whole properties. For clarity in my last house share I messaged the LL, met him, collected keys and moved in. He had my first name and a rough idea of where I worked. Are we being overly delicate, or would other forumites feel equally peeved at being asked to give a total stranger access to your entire everyday spending history? Are we being reasonable in politely declining to provide this info (accepting that we may not get the room if the LL takes umbrage)? - ofcourse. The is no legal or moral obligation to agree to the requests of , in effect, 'some guy'

And, perhaps more importantly, if we and the LL don’t agree and we don’t take the room, is there any potential comeback with the referencing company? I’d assume their referencing process is entirely separate to the LL asking for other details, but we don’t want some sort of black mark which may later affect a mortgage application.- no. There is no effect on your credit report

Many thanks all for your insightful wisdom!

Why not just rent a full property, 2 people working sounds like a good opportunity to build a home.

Rosemary7391

Comms - I think it's just intended to be a short term thing while they think about buying.



I'd be uncomfortable with this too. Unless you've really not got any other options I'd give this property a miss. The LL sounds altogether far too nosy even if they give in on this point! I wouldn't want my bank statements mailed there for instance...



Last time I rented a room the LL didn't even check my income/ID - admittedly I'd just started a job at her workplace, but even other rental agreements never wanted to peruse my spending habits!

SolentSal

Thanks all for the responses, glad to see that it isn’t just a case of us being difficult!

We’ll keep you posted on how we progress!

Thanks again

george4064

Sounds like the LL is way over the top and you should look elsewhere.

SolentSal

Further developments, it appears the other half has submitted the details of their ‘spending’ account, to satisfy the request. That makes it a tad awkward! :-/ I wonder, am I entitled to request a copy of their GDPR Privacy Notice as part of this process? My understanding is that they’re legally obliged to provide such a notice, detailing their use and storage of personal data?

theartfullodger

Unless unlawful (what they ask for isn't) it is entirely up to T & LL to agree what information they require. e.g. you could require landlord give you names & addresses of some tenants so you may reference the landlord (now there's a thought) to check they behave right.


If both don;t agree, no rental agreement!

SolentSal

I rather like that idea!

FreeBear

SolentSal wrote: »

I wonder, am I entitled to request a copy of their GDPR Privacy Notice as part of this process?

You certainly should - After all, you are providing personal data that could be used for ID theft or fraud. Also ask for their registration docs and check with the ICO.

As a (rent a room) landlord, I wouldn't dream of asking for bank statements. Just evidence that the rent is affordable and an assurance that it will be paid on time.

Rosemary7391

FreeBear wrote: »

You certainly should - After all, you are providing personal data that could be used for ID theft or fraud. Also ask for their registration docs and check with the ICO.

As a (rent a room) landlord, I wouldn't dream of asking for bank statements. Just evidence that the rent is affordable and an assurance that it will be paid on time.

(my bold)



I'm not sure if Landlords need to be registered? Which doesn't negate the need for them to hold data appropriately etc.