Dear Samii

I’ve just bought a tenanted property, so should I reference the existing tenants? And do I need to get their permission to do so?

Samii says

Yes definitely, re-referencing tenants is an important factor in a tenanted property transaction.

Before you exchange contracts, be sure that you have received all of the necessary documents, e.g. Assured Shorthold tenancy agreements, deposit registration and certification, inventory reports, gas safety certification, EPC certificates, etc. DO NOT rely on these to come after, otherwise any problems discovered after the exchange will be inherited.

Once you have received everything, you may want to ask the tenants to enter into a new tenancy agreement with you which you can then use alongside a new rent guarantee and legal expenses policy.

With regards to permissions, it’s important to make your tenants aware that you intend to reference them with third parties. However you do have a right under data protection (legitimate interest clause) to reference these tenants, as you will be liable for all aspects of that tenancy once you become their landlord.

As a member of TenantReferencingUK.com, our digital application forms notify each tenant that you intend
to reference them with a third party anyway; providing extra transparency to the process. Click here to join our community now.

Dear Samii

Can I upload my bad tenants onto the Tenant Referencing UK system without paying the £10 activation fee?

Samii says

NO !!!

Until you’ve activated your account you will only be able to access our Discussion Forums.
This is because as the only company in the UK to offer exclusive Tenant Histories (direct from a tenants previous landlord and/or agent), all new members must be authenticated for the purposes of security and data protection compliance. Tenant Referencing UK is not a blacklist site, therefore we must make sure that to the best of our knowledge that all live data uploaded onto the system is pure, correct and compliant. Our data processors take great pride in keeping yours and your tenants data safe at all times (e.g. not selling it on to third parties); can you say the same about any other company?…

The lettings industry will not improve whilst rogue landlords hide in the shadows. So our activation method provides the PRS with the trust and transparency good landlords, letting agents and tenants seek in today’s market.

Why Should you Activate your Account? Click here to find out more.

 

Have you got a tenant referencing question?
Then simply email samii@landlordreferencing.co.uk and it may feature here, helping other landlords and letting agents with the same query in the future.

Not an LRS member? Click here to join now and gain exclusive access to the only real-time referencing database in the UK, alongside 25,000+ fellow landlords.