UK Landlord Forum / Life

I used an agent who made only a 'basic', 'instant', check on a tenant. (Not sure if I can mention the checking company name here.)
The reference company recommends a 'comprehensive' check for all tenants.
This gives more security for the landlord and qualifies for insurance purposes.

My question is -

Am I entitled to expect full checks to be made on all tenants by my agent?

I would, and I'd also expect to see the full, unredacted, output.

Thank you Hippograph,

My agent tells me he will only send 'the final' report for each client on personal data protection grounds.

This means I can have no other information. I can not see the original application forms.

I fancy there have been 'failed reports' but he he will not confirm or deny this.

Slowly I am trying to fish information from my agent but often get met with 'I can not comment'.

The Agent may have forgotten, or never been aware of the fact, that he works for you. I would fire the Agent, and take delight in doing so.

Thanks again.

I kept my first post short because I thought it would be of general interest and raises the question of how much information about reports landlords are entitled to,.

One 'instant' tenant report was made AFTER the lease had been signed and after they had moved into my house.
I discovered this by chance.

This 'final' report the agent called a 're-run'.

It showed that the tenant was now responsible for part of the rent.

I am not sure that the tenant was aware that this report was being made and that she knew she was now responsible for part of the rent. The lease itself does not make it clear.

For some reason the agents are not replying very quickly or helpfully to the questions I am raising about this.

I use open rent and they have a simple or comprehensive check. I always choose the comprehensive and always get a copy.

Fire your existing agent and get someone decent.

If you need a referral for a free advert on open rent let me know.

Edit. This is my referral link. You get one free advert (as do I). https://www.openrent.co.uk/?share=178177

CaveDweller,

Thank you for your interest and good suggestion.

I am in a mess at the moment trying to evict tenants and get rid of a useless agent.

Your link looks good, clear and helpful. I may be in touch and will certainly mention it to friends.

Nice to have this site, one can feel lonely sometimes.

Michael

Hi Michael,

I am actually a managing director for my own estate agency in South East London. Firstly, we make it common practise to issue completed, full reference reports to our Landlord after each reference application is complete and especially before the Tenancy Agreement is signed. It definitely sounds like your current agent isn't doing a great job with your property and as mentioned by someone else sounds like he has forgotten who his actual client is.
Full credit checks are standard not only producing a credit score but also producing a report on the credit history of the applicants. Though this information can not be passed over to you as a Landlord, we spend the time to talk to our clients about the report in full detail once it has been finalized and they have a copy in front of them.

Hope my response helps and you now know what to expect from a Letting agent in the future.

Thanks

Thanks for your interest.

Sounds like you are doing the right thing with checks. I have now found a new agent who will carry out complete checks.

If only an 'instant' check is made the landlord is not able to take out an insurance.

I think that when you say ' your current agent isn't doing a great job' you are being very polite.

Keep on with your good work..

Michael

In Canada, many agents use TrustedTenant which is an automated reference check. Many tenants are already in the database and their rental history is revolving so that the landlord or letting agent can get a good idea about the rental history. Still, many agents use only the telephone reference and we all know that asking your friend to be your "landlord" is as easy as 123.

Trusted Tenant looks at things like missed rent payments, evictions, broken leases, complaints from other residents or building manager. It generates a score which allows for an accurate estimate of risk of nearly all applicants. The best part is that it is fully electronic, and the data is collected through an electronic application form. You can simply generate a button "Apply Now" and your tenants will have access to an easy application form. The form sends out automatic emails to references and documents their information and their responses.

http://www.trustedtenant.com

Thanks.

Trusted Tenant sounds like a good idea for everyone.
Would be great to have something like that here.
Asking friends to be previous landlords is more of a problem than I thought and causes anguish.