Landlord Gave Bad Reference

brianposter

No reason why he needs to provide such evidence - it is the inferences that the landlord has drawn from the late payment that are incorrect.

AdrianC

brianposter said:

No reason why he needs to provide such evidence - it is the inferences that the landlord has drawn from the late payment that are incorrect.

And how do you change the inferences somebody draws from accurate information?

You explain the circumstances.

Thrugelmir

brianposter said:

No reason why he needs to provide such evidence - it is the inferences that the landlord has drawn from the late payment that are incorrect.

The rent wasn't paid on time. No need to draw inferences. That's factual.  Cut to the chase , the rest is irrelevant. 

Precog

Wish I was in a position where I didn’t notice an additional £800 in my account each month...

Yes the LA should have submitted the paperwork to setup payment.

Yes the LL has been a bit of a !!!!!! marking you as not always paying the rent on time (especially when they are quite aware of the situation and circumstances).

Yes you should have noticed that it wasn’t going out before 6 months had passed.

But, as far as it goes it’s a truthful statement, rent wasn’t always paid on time (technically you were in arrears for 6 months, just nobody noticed).

Does it suck? Yeah it does, I think the advice given about writing an account of the events with all evidence and having that ready to go when you next look to apply somewhere, unfortunately IMO there’s no fight in this one so it’s best just written off and move forward from it.

Murphybear

When asking for references we asked, apart from the usual questions, “would you have him/her back as a tenant?”

We found this worked.

wannabe_a_saver

I think the issue now is whether the proposed moving out date that he insisted you provide counts as you serving notice. If not then you can stay on your rolling monthly tenancy and keep looking for your next place.

It does seem a bit calculated to make sure he had another 6 months of guaranteed rent. 

brianposter

Thrugelmir said:

brianposter said:

No reason why he needs to provide such evidence - it is the inferences that the landlord has drawn from the late payment that are incorrect.

The rent wasn't paid on time. No need to draw inferences. That's factual.  Cut to the chase , the rest is irrelevant. 

The landlord describing you as "a bad tenant" is irrelevant ?

Brum2307

Thank you all for your opinions relating to this. The landlord still cannot give me an explanation as to why he told the reference company that I was not a good tenant. I have asked for this in writing. I have requested SAR from the reference company to provide me with all correspondence they have on file relating to my reference checks. The reference company said that they contacted my current landlord to try and get further info as to why he said I do not pay rent on time and apparently my landlord just kept repeating the fact that I was in arrears and did not pay rent but would not expand further as to the exact reason. Once I explained to my landlord that I still had all emails/messages/letters relating to this matter from when it all happened 3.5years ago he suddenly changed his tune and attempted to contact the reference agency to amend the reference to a good one however it was too late, I had lost the new property! In those emails the landlord and Letting agent accepted part responsibility, admitting that it was not solely my fault why the rent was not paid and that it was me that realised and raised the issue and paid it off. Yesterday at 4.45pm he told me that I have until 6pm (1hr 15mins) to decide if I am still moving out or to sign a new 6 month tenancy with him to stay in this property! I explained that the timescale was not sufficient, I need more time and will be in touch Monday. I have been advised that this could be defamation of character as he has made me out to be a bad tenant however cannot support this. He also was given the oportunity to fully explain to the reference company exactly why rent was not paid and to inform them of the actual situation but he chose not to, he just kept repeating that I was in arrears and hadn't paid my rent on time. If he had just fully explained to them when he had the chance then it all might have been a different outcome.  

[Deleted User]

Regardless of what the letting agent may or may not have done with the standing order paperwork you signed a contract agreeing to pay £X every month by a certain date but you didn’t. Saying you didn’t pay the rent on time is factually correct so these threats about defamation are pointless so I don’t know who’s giving you that advice. 

The opening post gives the impression you have served notice to end the tenancy. You could try your luck and stay longer. It’s not like the landlord can physically remove you from the property on Monday , well not legally anyway. 

Brum2307

Yes I have given my notice to end the tennancy because my landlord said he needed it in writing before completing my references. I then messaged him to check he had completed the reference and he just replied 'all done!' I never thought he would have completed a bad reference. Yes the rent was not paid when I first moved in but due to the situation and the fact I immediately paid it off and the fact he allowed me to stay on another 6 months then to a month by month rolling contract, 3 years down the line and having no further issues I just think its bang out of order. If I had intentionally decided just to stop paying my rent or had caused issues, noise, damage etc then fair enough but the fact he withheld information to the refence company when asked is not on. He has no reason at all to have put that I am not a good tenant, he cant even explain to me why he put that! I totally understand that there are some bad tenants out there that cause major problems for landlords but in this situation I just feel as a tenant I have not been treated fairly or given the opportunity for the actual truth to be told. Things could have been different if the landlord would have just told them what had actually happened when they first contacted him for answers. Has he deliberately gone out of his way, using that situation as an excuse to prevent me from getting this new place with the intention I would just stay here and sign a new 6 month tenancy? There are 4 other apartments up for rent here, competition.