{"id":2446,"date":"2012-04-04T10:03:54","date_gmt":"2012-04-04T10:03:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lettingaproperty.com\/landlord\/blog\/?p=2446"},"modified":"2012-04-04T10:03:54","modified_gmt":"2012-04-04T10:03:54","slug":"tenant-referencing-its-a-must-do-for-uk-landlords","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lettingaproperty.com\/landlord\/blog\/tenant-referencing-its-a-must-do-for-uk-landlords\/","title":{"rendered":"Tenant Referencing – It’s a ‘must do’ for UK Landlords"},"content":{"rendered":"

A landlord with 8 years\u2019 experience and 20 properties under her belt, had her worst fears realised when she let out a property to four students without taking proper tenant referencing<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Potential dangers of not carrying out tenant referencing<\/h2>\n

Although the landlord had requested references from the students she hadn\u2019t had the new tenants properly referenced and later found out that the references she was given were bogus.<\/p>\n

On moving into the property the students paid the landlord the deposit and first month\u2019s rent up-front but that was the first and last payment she ever saw. A barrage of excuses as to why the rent hadn\u2019t been paid ensued and the landlord was even accused of harassment on one occasion when she visited the house to request payment.<\/p>\n

However, the lack of rent wasn\u2019t the only problem and the landlord started receiving complaints from the students\u2019 neighbours with regard to the rubbish and furniture being dumped in the garden. Things seemed to be going from bad to worse.<\/p>\n

After two months with no rent payment, the landlord went to court to apply for an eviction notice but it wasn\u2019t until six months later that she finally received the possession order she needed to claim back her property. \u00a0Even though the landlord was relieved to finally be rid of the nuisance tenants on entering the property, with a bailiff by her side, she realised that having the students evicted was only the start of what was going to be a very long and costly journey.<\/p>\n

What greeted the landlord when she walked through the door was the stuff of every property owners\u2019 worst nightmare. The damage was extensive, the doors had been removed, carpets, curtains and furniture were ruined and the property needed to be completely re-decorated.<\/p>\n

All in all, with the cost of repairs and the loss of rent, the property owner was left \u00a310,500 out of pocket. \u00a0She did manage to locate the students and wrote to them but to no avail and discovered afterwards that this was not the first time the students had pulled this kind of stunt. \u00a0This is only one of many stories that are publicised within the UK press which adds weight to the absolute necessity for every landlord and landlord to carry out a comprehensive tenant referencing.<\/p>\n

What is Tenant Referencing?<\/h3>\n

Tenant referencing\u00a0or tenant checks are a means of validating your prospective tenant\u2019s identity, income and employment before handing over the keys. All too often landlords have been \u2018stung\u2019 by tenants who have not been able to meet the monthly rent payments or have secured the property under a false identity only to leave it with extensive damage, a pile of unpaid utility bills and no forwarding address. We realise this is a worst-case scenario but it does happen and is it really worth taking the risk when an extensive and thorough tenant referencing check can be carried out for less than \u00a3100?<\/p>\n

What does a good Tenant Reference report entail?<\/h3>\n

If a landlord opts for tenant referencing via a professional online letting\u00a0agent they can expect a thorough investigation into the tenant\u2019s identity, income and financial information, employment and previous rental property addresses. A good tenant referencing report will, quite literally, leave no stone unturned and will expose any issues which could well be a cause for concern.<\/p>\n