Estate Agent Refusing to allow us to view a property

Justonemorecupoftea

Move on and don't take it personally.
Even though you can pay a year upfront, there is nothing to reassure the landlord that you won't stay beyond that year and they have no way of knowing whether you'll be able to pay beyond that period. Landlords are increasingly risk averse and you are a high risk option.

user1977

suetonius said:

I understand that, but it is uncomfortable to be discriminated against by someone who has no idea about us.

It may be discrimination, but I'm sure that at least whichever of you is the lawyer will know that it isn't unlawful discrimination, and that the banker understands that assessing somebody's creditworthiness isn't necessarily carried out on grounds which the potential debtor agrees with.

AnotherJoe

In what way do you think an unemployed argumentative lawyer would be more attractive as a tenant than most of the other 19 people contending for this flat?

gettingtheresometime

fred246 said:

I think if I was a landlord I would want people who were engaged in more honest professions to rent my property.

Apart from the fact that both those professions, last time I checked, were bona fide what would you class as a more honest profession? An MP or would you only consider renting to a PM? 

Falafels

gettingtheresometime said:

fred246 said:

I think if I was a landlord I would want people who were engaged in more honest professions to rent my property.

a more honest profession? An MP or would you only consider renting to a PM? 

You are joking, aren't you? Aren't you?

AnotherJoe

gettingtheresometime said:

fred246 said:

I think if I was a landlord I would want people who were engaged in more honest professions to rent my property.

Apart from the fact that both those professions, last time I checked, were bona fide what would you class as a more honest profession? An MP or would you only consider renting to a PM? 

A worthy contender for r/woosh 

[Deleted User]

If someone applied for a mortgage the bank would expect them to produce proof of income 

Why should a landlord be any different? 

If I were a landlord, I wouldn't take on tenants who weren't working either. 

saajan_12

suetonius said:

Wanted to view a property for rent in a very affluent area. 

Asked lots of questions and told that as we couldn't prove an income of x30 the rent, then we wouldn't be allowed to view it. I explained that we have sufficient savings to cover the rent, even to pay fully in advance if necessary.- fully meaning for 6 months? 12 months? Regardless of what your fixed term says, the LL wouldn't be able to evict you via courts for well after your upfront rent runs out. So what happens if you burn through your savings and can't get another job due to the long gap.. 
Next excuse was that the landlord wanted a working professional. We are professionals but are taking a year off work, but she insisted that they wanted someone currently working. If it helps, one is a lawyer and the other a banker. - working professionals would be more likely to be out most of the day, so less wear & tear on the property, more of a reputation to maintain.. no idea if you plan on return to work. Nothing that the LL can guarantee or sue for, but its more likely.. 

The estate agent won't even let us view it, as she insists there are over twenty other more suitable candidates for the flat. - well its in their interest to get the flat rented, so unlikely they're lying. So if there are 20+ people, its pretty likely they'll find someone suitable, so why waste time and inconvenience the current tenant for a pointless viewing?

Is there any way around this? My money is just as good as theirs. I could even provide references from work etc. - what would the reference say, you have a good character? Doesn't really say much about how you behave at home. The main thing would be salary and no expectation of getting fired, which your work can't say since remember you're not working.. 

suetonius said:

I understand that, but it is uncomfortable to be discriminated against by someone who has no idea about us. The characteristics required by the LL don't really mean that the chosen tenant will be any more upstanding than we would be. 

The point is there are no guarantees who will be more upstanding, but its more LIKELY that a working professional would make better business sense LONG TERM
* job continuity after your savings run out (easier to keep a job than get a job etc)
* less wear & tear on the property if working people out all day
* if rent arrears / damages, LL has option to attach earnings 

Its not discrimination, its a business decision based on a non-protected characteristic. Ultimately its their / their client's property, you have no right to a viewing, so best bet is to move on. 

theoretica

Sounds like they have lots of interested people already so there is little point adding people onto the queue - unless they sound like they might be really unusually good tenants and significantly more attractive than the other 20.  So not negative discrimination against you, but not applying positive discrimination to add you to an effectively closed list.

youth_leader

I got turned down by the rental agency for a flat because of the formula they used for my 'income', I think the max I could have afforded according to them was £750 per month.  I did have three figures in my savings but they weren't interested.