Prospective Landlord Requesting Payslip

MissyN

I’m going to view an apartment next week & the landlord has requested proof of employment & a reference front a previous landlord which is fine but he’s also requested a payslip which I’ve never been asked for previously. I’m very uncomfortable at the prospect of giving out this info but is this the norm now?

I like the property & want to move so do I just suck it up?

10pennymixup

Been hashed out here many times before.

They shouldn't be looking for any of these prior to a viewing, but are allowed inform you that they will possibly be required at some later stage. You should only be providing these if they are offering you the tenancy subject to their provision.

They need to see if you can afford the rent, and personal information on the payslip such as ppsn will be needed for RTB registration. Not that there is much more info on a payslip AFAIK, but if there is, anything else you can redact.

Bubbaclaus

What's on the payslip that you dont want them seeing?

Samuel T. Cogley

Bubbaclaus wrote: »

What's on the payslip that you dont want them seeing?

Their pay presumably.

MissyN

Bubbaclaus wrote: »

What's on the payslip that you dont want them seeing?

I’m just a really private person & haven’t had to disclose that before so I’m not used to it but I looked at threshold & apparently it’s not a far fetched request.

stinger31

surely this is a fair request. it shows if you can afford the rent and also that you actually work for the company you claim to work for.

Land lords have to be extremely careful these days

Samuel T. Cogley

It's not a fair request at this stage - if they're the preferred tenant that's another story.

punisher5112

Most of not all look for payslip, letter to state you are in full time employment, bank account, letter from the bank that you are a customer and stamped and dated, reference from previous LL or sponsor or job etc....

MissyN

Samuel T. Cogley wrote: »

It's not a fair request at this stage - if they're the preferred tenant that's another story.

I’m going to see the property on Tues evening & he wants me to send on this info now before I’ve even step foot in the place. It’s a bit premature. I told him it’ll take me a couple of days to gather the info anyways.

DubCount

10pennymixup wrote: »

Been hashed out here many times before.

+1

Whether a LL should be asking for this or not is a matter of debate. Some say they should be ask for whatever they want to protect the property they have invested so much money in. Some say its not required for a LL to pick a tenant so should not be asked for or provided.

Really it comes down to this. Regardless of whether it is right to ask for it or not, if you say no, you risk not getting the property. Only you can make the call if the discomfort of showing a LL the payslip outweighs the risk of not getting the lease.


Maybe Covid-19 means the tenant is in a more powerful position to say no than a few months ago, because its less of a sellers market. Maybe this will be the case where another prospective tenant shows the payslip and gets the property ahead of you.

Pawwed Rig

You do not have to provide anything you are uncomfortable with. Neither though does the LL have to let you rent their property. Personally I have never asked for pay slips or proof of income but have been badly burnt a couple of times so maybe my due diligence is not what it might be.

Edgware

Because of landlords ripping off tenants and tenants ripping off landlords the innocent people on both sides have to take measures to protect themselves.
If you are not prepared to cooperate with the request there are plenty who will.

Mrs OBumble

MissyN wrote: »

I’m just a really private person & haven’t had to disclose that before so I’m not used to it but I looked at threshold & apparently it’s not a far fetched request.

You are asking the landlord to hand you the keys to a property worth probably a couple of hundred-thousand. You are someone they barely know. And they will have minimal opportunities to ensure that you are looking after the property.

Thought of in that way, it sounds lots more reasonable.

username2013

If I were you I would say fine to sending them proof of employment and reference letter now, but would insist on showing the payslip in person when you go for the viewing, rather than emailing them a copy. That way you could blank or cover over your PPS number and also keep it rather than them having a copy.

Eric Cartman

Bubbaclaus wrote: »

What's on the payslip that you dont want them seeing?

Even as a renter Im usually pretty pro landlord , but I don't think allowing a landlord to see your payslip is reasonable, it gives more incentive to raise rents on tenants who earn more.

JustAThought

Perfectly reasonable request - surprised they havn’t asked to see the past 3 or 6 months payslip in addition to a current work statement and reference - they don’t want to waste their time viewing it to someone who cannot afford it and has to base their assesment of whom to rent it to based on income, ability to pay in the future etc. You want the keys to a property worth several hundred thousand euro from a stranger - yes - show them what they need to be able to make the decision to set things in place to rent it to you.

Pawwed Rig

Eric Cartman wrote: »

Even as a renter Im usually pretty pro landlord , but I don't think allowing a landlord to see your payslip is reasonable, it gives more incentive to raise rents on tenants who earn more.

RPZ?

handlemaster

Normal in most countries other than Ireland. Someone walks in off the street and want to use your biggest investment. What's the proof they are who they say they are ? What's the proof they can pay ?

rosmoke

I would laugh, this has to be a joke?
My contract and salary are confidential and will remain this way.
A reference and deposit should be more than enough.
And having lived in other countries in Europe this is not normal contrary to what someone else mentioned, at least from what I experienced.

noodler

Give a bank statement with everything redacted apart from the weekly, fortnightly, monthly pay coming in.

I would want proof of means as well

Last three landlords required it.

DubCount

rosmoke wrote: »

My contract and salary are confidential and will remain this way.

You should say that to the bank if you are applying for a mortgage.

rosmoke wrote: »

A reference and deposit should be more than enough.

You should also say that to the bank if you are applying for a mortgage.

rosmoke wrote: »

And having lived in other countries in Europe this is not normal contrary to what someone else mentioned, at least from what I experienced.

The risks of property letting in Ireland are far greater than most other European countries. Most countries do not allow non-paying tenants stay in a property for up to 2 years, and some will even make it possible for a LL to recoup unpaid rent and property damage in a reasonable timeframe using the courts system.

If I was the LL, I would laugh along with you, and find another tenant.:)

tjhook

A person's pay is private. If I asked any of you face-to-face for yours, you'd tell me where to go, and rightly so. There's no comparison between giving a payslip to a bank and giving a payslip to a person who happens to be a landlord. Any person or organisation demanding this type of info is a GDPR data controller and needs to be able to detail their processes.

The current situation is somewhat understandable - the lack of consequences when a tenant acts the maggot, and an imbalance in supply/demand means a landlord can demand anything they want. That doesn't make it right though. If there was balance, it would also be standard for a landlord to provide references from previous tenants, and to provide a payslip/bank statement to show that (s)he can afford repairs, property tax, etc. I can understand why a landlord wouldn't want to be showing their private financial details to randomers, but the same goes in reverse.

If the concern is ability to pay rent, then surely a reference from the tenant's previous landlord and the previous rent amount would suffice? I.e. the tenant has been able to afford their previous rent.

Dav010

tjhook wrote: »

A person's pay is private. If I asked any of you face-to-face for yours, you'd tell me where to go, and rightly so. There's no comparison between giving a payslip to a bank and giving a payslip to a person who happens to be a landlord. Any person or organisation demanding this type of info is a GDPR data controller and needs to be able to detail their processes.

If the concern is ability to pay rent, then surely a reference from the tenant's previous landlord and the previous rent amount would suffice? I.e. the tenant has been able to afford their previous rent.

But if you ask me face to face, to borrow something of mine worth €200k, I’d like I little more Han a smile and a reference.

This subject has been done to death on other threads, the consensus on those threads is, while the practice of asking for payslips may breach GDPR regs, refusal to provide it guarantees that you will not get the property as others will have no issue with the request.

tjhook

Yes, with the current imbalance a landlord could ask for your first born and although it's against regulations, somebody else would be lining up to hand over theirs. Or something else.

Any property is valuable, but a payslip has no bearing on how a prospective tenant will treat it. It only indicates that at one specific point in time, the tenant had a particular flow of income. For that matter, it's a flawed picture since it doesn't show what outgoings the tenant has or will have.

What a reference shows is that the tenant has a track record in paying rent - and if a figure is provided, it shows what size of rent (s)he has been successfully able to pay.

NuMarvel

Samuel T. Cogley wrote: »

It's not a fair request at this stage - if they're the preferred tenant that's another story.

This. The landlord in question is only arranging viewings at this point. There are no valid reasons to be collecting this sort of information for the purposes of arranging viewings.

Where that leaves the OP is a different question.

Dav010

tjhook wrote: »

Yes, with the current imbalance a landlord could ask for your first born and although it's against regulations, somebody else would be lining up to hand over theirs. Or something else.

Any property is valuable, but a payslip has no bearing on how a prospective tenant will treat it. It only indicates that at one specific point in time, the tenant had a particular flow of income. For that matter, it's a flawed picture since it doesn't show what outgoings the tenant has or will have.

What a reference shows is that the tenant has a track record in paying rent - and if a figure is provided, it shows what size of rent (s)he has been successfully able to pay.

A payslip gives an indication as to whether the prospective tenant can afford the rent.

The “imbalance” you post about is less to do with demand for rentals, and more to do with the imbalance in rights which the RTA/RTB affords to both parties.

In the end it comes down to, if you don’t want to comply with LLs request, don’t, move on.

tjhook

Dav010 wrote: »

The “imbalance” you post about is less to do with demand for rentals, and more to do with the imbalance in rights which the RTA/RTB affords to both parties.

In the end it comes down to, if you don’t want to comply with LLs request, don’t, move on.

I think it's both. The rights of both parties is a factor for sure. What's stopping all tenants from saying "no thanks, I'm not going to give that info"? Nothing, except that there are far more people looking to rent than there are available properties.

And yes, in in the end only the OP can decide if it's worth distributing their payslip and references when there's no indication that they'll be offered the tenancy. I wouldn't though.

noodler

Scan it, redact everything but the net pay.

Dav010

tjhook wrote: »

I think it's both. The rights of both parties is a factor for sure. What's stopping all tenants from saying "no thanks, I'm not going to give that info"? Nothing, except that there are far more people looking to rent than there are available properties.

And yes, in in the end only the OP can decide if it's worth distributing their payslip and references when there's no indication that they'll be offered the tenancy. I wouldn't though.

Even if there are more properties now and demand may have dropped, it is still important to make every effort possible to mitigate risk when renting your property.

Mrs OBumble

tjhook wrote: »

A person's pay is private. If I asked any of you face-to-face for yours, you'd tell me where to go, and rightly so.

Actually, it's not.

There are an increasing number of companies with full pay transparency policies.

And for government workers, their grade (published) plus years of service (easily deduced in most cases) is a very good indication of their salary.

Pkiernan

Requesting a pay slip is used to determine HAP status of a prospective tenant.

It allows a landlord to circumvent the law that says they may not discriminate against HAP tenants.