Letting agent and credits checks?
Hi all, has anyone ever found themselves in a situtation where a letting agent assured you that everything was in order with a tenant’s credit check, only to discover later that it wasn’t accurate?
I recently came across this situation where an agent carried out a check and said all was fine with the tenant’s credit check, four days before the move-in date, the agent sent an NDA to sign in regards to the credit check. It turns out that the so-called check was not correct.
The bottom line of the story is double check anything a letting agent says or does with your property.
Thanks,
C
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Member Since January 2020 - Comments: 559
11:37 AM, 16th April 2024, About 2 years ago
The odd thing here is the agent asking you to sign an NDA. have never heard of that before. The agent is your agent, acting on your behalf, so information should not be privleged. You are entitled to anything the agent has on their files.
What most agents and landlords miss is that the landlords should be registered with ICO under GDPR rules if tghey are to hold information on tenants.
Member Since September 2023 - Comments: 335
4:27 PM, 16th April 2024, About 2 years ago
Why complicate matters , ast with a guarantor , bond and rent in advance , inform potential tenants any infringement of ast will be met with a eviction notice no excuses .
Member Since April 2024 - Comments: 284
12:18 PM, 20th April 2024, About 2 years ago
Reply to the comment left by Graham Bowcock at 16/04/2024 – 11:37
What is ICO. I’m with a letting agent, fully managed. I have some copies of tenant information such as the gas cert, EICR, tenancy agreement as I wished to keep on top of the agent for renewals. Do I need to register with a body for GDPR reasons? Is there a charge for this? Thank you.
Member Since January 2020 - Comments: 559
3:05 PM, 20th April 2024, About 2 years ago
Reply to the comment left by Alison Clark at 20/04/2024 – 12:18
Information Commissioners Office
It costs £35 a year.
Despite what some may say on here, it’s a legal requirement if you hold information on your tenants.
Member Since January 2020 - Comments: 559
3:08 PM, 20th April 2024, About 2 years ago
Reply to the comment left by Michael Booth at 16/04/2024 – 16:27
Michael
There is no substitute for getting a proper reference on a tenant. In my experience (just the 35+ years), references throw up all sorts of things that a landlord needs to be aware of.
Guarantors never like paying up.
Deposits are capped at 5 weeks.
Eviction can take months (or years).
No amount of rhetoric or “advice” to the tenant to behave will help the landlord if you get a dodgy tenant.