Landlord reference for tenant that I asked about to move out

some_user

Hi,
posting under new account here.

Problem: Owner Occupier who is renting rooms.

I've never had any major trouble before but the latest tenant (here 2+ months) is wrecking my head. It's basically a situation that I've encountered before of someone, who for various reasons, can't afford their own house and is pretty much starting to play house/take over mine.

Also, their internal clock doesn't fit well with the house where we would all be early risers, washing machine going ninety at 2 in the morning, heat constantly on, washing machine constantly on (seriously, how much washing can one person do). However, on the whole, clean and neat and easy to get along with.

That said, they are just a bit idiotic, stuff like leaving windows open when there is no-one in the house and really paying attention when you say stuff so you have to explain things a lot. And about 3 weeks ago, I heard a bang-bang-bang, after knocking politely on their door I asked if there was a problem (though I'd a good idea of what it was) and it turned out they were happily putting up nails to hang pictures < insert rolly eyes>.

That said, they are driving me crazy. However, before it came to blows, I gave them a months notice about a week ago. I just said that I'd decided that I wanted one of the rooms back as I just didn't see the point of getting into arguments and having an unpleasant atmosphere.

They've just come back and asked me for a reference. Now on the one hand, they're not a terrible tenant, just not suited for sharing with me, rent was paid on time and they are neat and tidy and easy to get on with.

However, I'm reluctant to hand over a reference when I don't really know what state the room is in. I know I could have snuck in when they're not there but I make a point of never entering a tenant's room without their explicit permission.

Should I just give the reference but make it very brief?
Should I ask for a pre-room inspection before I give the reference?

As it is, the reference will only state that they've been there for 2 months, which I think will do more harm than good, if I'm honest.

ronano

some_user wrote: »

Hi,
posting under new account here.

Problem: Owner Occupier who is renting rooms.

I've never had any major trouble before but the latest tenant (here 2+ months) is wrecking my head. It's basically a situation that I've encountered before of someone, who for various reasons, can't afford their own house and is pretty much starting to play house/take over mine.

Also, their internal clock doesn't fit well with the house where we would all be early risers, washing machine going ninety at 2 in the morning, heat constantly on, washing machine constantly on (seriously, how much washing can one person do). However, on the whole, clean and neat and easy to get along with.

That said, they are just a bit idiotic, stuff like leaving windows open when there is no-one in the house and really paying attention when you say stuff so you have to explain things a lot. And about 3 weeks ago, I heard a bang-bang-bang, after knocking politely on their door I asked if there was a problem (though I'd a good idea of what it was) and it turned out they were happily putting up nails to hang pictures < insert rolly eyes>.

That said, they are driving me crazy. However, before it came to blows, I gave them a months notice about a week ago. I just said that I'd decided that I wanted one of the rooms back as I just didn't see the point of getting into arguments and having an unpleasant atmosphere.

They've just come back and asked me for a reference. Now on the one hand, they're not a terrible tenant, just not suited for sharing with me, rent was paid on time and they are neat and tidy and easy to get on with.

However, I'm reluctant to hand over a reference when I don't really know what state the room is in. I know I could have snuck in when they're not there but I make a point of never entering a tenant's room without their explicit permission.

Should I just give the reference but make it very brief?
Should I ask for a pre-room inspection before I give the reference?

As it is, the reference will only state that they've been there for 2 months, which I think will do more harm than good, if I'm honest.

Give a reference when they've either vacated the room or ask to inspect the room then give the reference. Make it brief, state length of lease, if decent tenant paid rent, kept clean etc

Mrs OBumble

To Whom it May Concern

This is to confirm that Joe Bloggs has been a lodged in my home at 123 The Street between 1 April and 28 May 2014.

Joe's rent has always been paid on time, and he is neat and tidy and easy to get on with.

If you have any further questions, please contact me on 012 345 6789


Regards
some_user

That should do it ... written references aren't worth the paper they're put on, anyway.

carveone

ronano wrote: »

Give a reference when they've either vacated the room or ask to inspect the room then give the reference.

The former is likely to cause issues if the next landlord wants a reference before he rents the place. Can I guess that written references are like job references? - leave out the negatives and let the next employer read between the lines.

"rent was paid on time and they are neat and tidy".

That's a good enough reference! I mean if the landlord calls you, asking why the term was so short, you can tell him that it was a personality clash and maybe mention the time thing (that's really really annoying when others are wandering around the house at 2am) but only verbally.

carveone

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

That should do it ... written references aren't worth the paper they're put on, anyway.

Yeah, that. :P

An employee reference that just stated "Bob turned up on time for work" would be a red flag ! (Wandering off topic there)

Ken.

Tenants renting in an owner occupied house have little to no rights.
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/housing/renting_a_home/sharing_accommodation_with_your_landlord.html

some_user

Yes, I do know that as an owner occupier I could literally turf them out tonight and they'd have little recourse. However, like the vast majority of people here, I like to do the right thing. I rented myself for years and want things to be above board.

I think the idea of giving a very brief reference is a good one. Thanks for the helpful advice. If I had to give a verbal reference, I'd probably give a different one depending on whether the person is an owner occupier or not based upon my experience with the tenant. I think they would do very well in a house in a different situation, just not mine!

sassyj

Some-user I feel your pain, your tenant sounds very like mine, soon to get notice also after a short rental period.

Good advise on keeping ref brief, the less you say the more it says! Putting rental dates on it will speak volumes.

some_user

Update and question:
So I provided a reference which said

To Whom it May Concern

This is to confirm that Joe Bloggs is a tenant from 11th Feb 2014.

Joe's rent has always been paid on time, and he is neat and tidy and easy to get on with.


Regards
some_user

However, now they've come back and said that the place they were looking at wouldn't accept it and want my address on it and for me to sign it.

I don't particularly want to start signing things without knowing what the repurcussions are. Don't particularly want to put my exact house number on it either, in case I end up wiht an irate landlord on my door step in a months time.

I said they they could pass on my number and I would happily have an informal chat with whomever is making the enquiry. Such hassle, not unlike said tenant!

Mrs OBumble

In fairness, a reference does need to be signed. Any schmuck could write a letter like that.

Seems to me it comes down to how much you want the guy out: if you won't give a good-enough reference, then he won't get somewhere else to live.

odds_on

Please note, he is NOT a tenant, he is a licensee or lodger. Calling him a tenant confuses the matter, especially for people who have little knowledge of renting.

some_user

To be honest Mrs. Bumble, I've never had to sign a reference before. Previously I emailed a tenant a reference and provided a reference over the phone for another.

Good point odds_on, I'll change the letter to say lodger rather than tenant.

If no-one can tell me what signing actually entails from a legal point of view, then I'm not going to sign it.

Thanks for the replies.

Pawwed Rig

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

In fairness, a reference does need to be signed. Any schmuck could write a letter like that.

Any schmuck could sign it either. From the last three properties I have rented I wrote my reference myself. In 2 of them the LL signed it, in the third he didn't have a scanner to send it back to me so I signed it for him. None of them were ever called.

Mrs OBumble

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

Any schmuck could sign it either. From the last three properties I have rented I wrote my reference myself. In 2 of them the LL signed it, in the third he didn't have a scanner to send it back to me so I signed it for him. None of them were ever called.

So you think it's ok to commit fraud? Because that's what you did in the 3rd case, unless the signature was legible and said

"pp Pawned Rig"

Pawwed Rig

Fraud is a bit strong as it is not a legal document. Otherwise yes I have no problem with it as noone was misled or lied to.
A call from new LL (if they could have been bothered) to old LL would have backed up everything in the reference.