How do I tell someone that they aren't right for the property and that I don't want to accept their request for a viewing!!
The thing is to do is to set clear expectations from the start.
My approach...
I advertised and managed the letting process through OpenRent (and found it really easy, by the way).
I had over 70 enquires. These come in as messages via the OpenRent platform.
To make clear my assessment process I set up a reply within OpenRent which is sent
automatically whenever an enquiry is received, as follows:
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Thank you for your enquiry.
The next steps are:
1. I will carefully consider all enquiries.
2. I will arrange a phone or WhatsApp call with enquirers who meet the initial criteria.
3. If the call goes well I will send a Tenancy Application Form to be completed.
4. I will arrange viewings for people who return a satisfactory Application Form.
5. I will obtain References and conduct Credit Checks prior to renting the property.
Many thanks
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Without being rude to anyone, this makes it clear that the landlord is in charge of the process and that applications will only progress to the next stage
if the landlord decides that they are satisfactory.
This quickly dealt with time-wasters and no-hopers (e.g a family of three wanting to move into a studio flat).
For the 5 who got through to the phone call, I noted down what they said and, if I didn't want them to progress any further, I sent them a short message via OpenRent saying "Thank you for your enquiry but in this case there were more suitable applicants". There's no need to explain further
unless you want to give them a helpful hint as to how they could improve their chances elsewhere, which I did in a couple of cases.
This left 3 to whom I sent application forms.
Of these, 2 were satisfactory and I invited them to a viewing. The other one had provided different information during the phone call and on the application form, so they got a "Thank you for your enquiry but in this case there were more suitable applicants".
Stay polite and matter of fact throughout. It's your property and you don't need to justify to anyone why you don't want a particular tenant.
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