References required??

Arathorn

When rental property ads say references required what does this actually mean? Do they expect you to turn up with a written reference or will a phone number of your current landlord do? I woulnd't want to ask for a reference from my current landlord until I find a place. Its very competitive to find somewhere, anything decent is snapped up, so do you think im at a disadvantage by turning up to view a place without a reference?

steinbock

when renting in the past i've had to give written references from previous landlords, passport number, even bank account statements on one occasion. I'd say if you are viewing places the name and number of a previous landlord would be fine.

hmmm

I will usually supply a letter to say I'm employed, and a letter from my bank. Anything else is too much hassle and none of their business anyway. Haven't had any problems. Usually the agents want one/two of three, landlord ref, bank ref or employer ref.

upthere

Its makes sense to know who you are renting to ie whether they can afford payments, whether they've been any trouble to previous landlords.
But that's one half, having a bad landlord is the same. I think both parties should be aware of each other before going to sign that one contract. If both get along and reach understanding then everyone is happy and it's easy to get along with the landlord and you don't feel need to be snotty about rent issues etc when a problem is apparent.
Good to get a firm mutual relationship with respect between tenant and landlord(that name sounds like something from cromwellian era )

shoegirl

In my past experience I always got a written reference from the landlord. Mainly because I usually ended up losing his/her number/address and usually name as well.

Generally I don't mind landlords asking for references as trouble makers will have difficulty getting one and if there are multiple flats in the house you are less likely to live upstairs or downstairs from the tenant from hell.

Generally I find that looking for refs indicates "no troublemakers please" or "no non-rent payers please." Landlords who don't want rent allowance more often than not are not paying tax rather than specirfically discriminating against RA tenants - though some might be.

Prop

Most letting agents will check your references so if you just give the letting agent your landlords number they will check with the landlord whether or not you paid rent on time etc.