The Great Tenant Referencing Scam
30th March 2021
Your letting/estate agent contacts you with some great news, they’ve found a tenant for your property and they’ve just passed referencing!!
“Great” you say “go ahead and move them in”, but do you ever ask your agent exactly what criteria they have been referenced against?, probably not!
In my 20 years in the lettings industry the quality of tenants getting through referencing with some of the country’s biggest agencies has dropped dramatically and referencing companies are actually being asked by these same companies to water down checks so that they can get more potential applicants through as passed!! It appears in many instances these days that if you have a pulse and can hold a pen…. “Congratulations your application has been successful!!!”
Please make sure your agent vets potential tenants properly as the consequences for you the landlord can be extremely serious, and I guarantee in most cases when it does go wrong, you and not the agent will be left to pick up the pieces!!!
If you’re in any doubt as to what criteria your agent should be using when referencing prospective tenants please get in touch.
Refined over our 37 years in business, Easthams & Co have one of the most thorough tenant referencing processes in the industry. Read more about Easthams & Co’s tenant process or explore our Landlord Services.