Choosing tenants

[annam222]

Hi all,
I advertised my flat on OpenRent (for the first time) and received 90 viewing requests in a few days (I have removed the advert now).
I set up an automated reply to all enquires with a list of 10 questions, then picked five potential tenants that ticked all the boxes. I called all five and they sounded great so I booked them in to view. Three viewed the flat yesterday and they today they have all said they want to take the flat. I got a really good feeling for all of them/ seemed genuinely nice and like they would make good tenants.
My question is- how do you choose who to proceed to referencing with? I assume you can’t/shouldn’t reference two at the same time?
I think to pass the affordability they need to have a joint income of 39k, one couple warn 40k combined (but said they will provide guarantors), another 49k and the last 66k.
They all have lived in rented accommodation for 1yr+ so can provide landlord references.
Any advice on how to pick would be much appreciated.
Thank you.

[slopemaster]

try and get a feel for who will stay longest?

[Hudson01]

Very difficult indeed and not a big surprise given the chaos that is currently the PRS. They of course have to pass all the standard checks on their salary and references, but when that is a given............. i pick on ' gut feeling ', no science at all ! I meet lots of '' wrong un's'' in my job so for me it's reasonably easy to do, there is always a little thing you like about one over another, pick them if all else is equal. As landlords we are in a great postiion at the moment, having all these really top quality tenants to pick from, don't sweat it too much, it looks like anyone you pick would be fine.... god help those borderline tenants They will never find anywhere.

[AndrewDod]

try and get a feel for who will stay longest?

It depends. I have been picking people who I know (99.9%) will NOT want to stay in the UK for very long. Long term UK-based renters - way too much risk (of later imposed very low rates of rent, enforced property sales from some later lunatic government...).

Length of stay is a relatively minor criterion right now.

[AndrewDod]

Can't see any problem with asking for bank statements and landlord references from all of them right now. Also visit them in their current homes if possible. Don't be unfair and lead them on however - explain clearly that they are one of three possible candidates out of 90. Ask for copies of their current tenancy agreements. I presume you have asked details of previous tenancies too and how these ended.

[ash72]

Based on the information, I would pick the one with the highest salary, as they will be able to afford the property and the costs of running the property. If you haven't already I would ask them why they are leaving the property they are currently renting - this provides good insight.

And no you can't reference 2 different tenants simultaneously, as what would you give as the why you are rejecting the other person if they also have a glowing report? I raised a question on this forum yesterday about how to keep 2 potential T's on standby, as I also had over 85 enquiries and have viewings booked for 25 of them, and out of these 6 are my favourite based on the pre viewing interview I had with them all.

[AndrewDod]

No you really really can ask for landlords references/statements etc on more than one simultaneously. Indeed you often must. Be transparent though.

[AndrewDod]

what would you give as the why you are rejecting the other person if they also have a glowing report?

That's an easy one. You need to keep prospective tenants honestly informed: Send to all 90 on your list:

Dear X,

I appreciate that the current situation is a very difficult one. Unfortunately it is as a result of government interference in the private rental sector , where insufficient attention has been paid to the manner in which that market can reasonably function, and to the costs imposed on tenants. This has severely detrimented tenants such as yourselves. We do hope that you find somewhere suitable to stay. You may wish to contact the housing charity shelter to explain how legislation they have promoted has impacted on you https://www.shelter.org.uk/

[annam222]

Thank you everyone so helpful as always.
Two of the three potential tenant couples are moving as the landlord is selling the property, the third are living with parents currently but wanting to move into their first rental home together (this concerns me a little as it is not easy living with someone so it may not be the dreamy outcome they think it will be).

Three years ago when I rented my flat out (the one and only time) through an estate agent I asked the agent to get bank statements for me at the referencing stage- they advised me not to do this and said no one does so these days. So I feel a little hesitant about asking for statements.
I have been thinking about asking for landlord references now but I was wondering- and this may be a bit of a silly question, but how do I know it is legit and not written by a friend?

I have been doing some investigating online and seen that one of the applicants who said they have been with the same employer for three years, in fact has a LinkedIn that says their job is "freelance"- is that alarm bells?

[ExpertInAField]

LinkedIn is rubbish and barely anyone updates it. Don't rely on it for anything.

[boletus]

Two of the three potential tenant couples are moving as the landlord is selling the property

Why is a landlord with perfect tenants paying the full market price selling up?

[AndrewDod]

Three years ago when I rented my flat out (the one and only time) through an estate agent I asked the agent to get bank statements for me at the referencing stage- they advised me not to do this and said no one does so these days. So I feel a little hesitant about asking for statements.
I have been thinking about asking for landlord references now but I was wondering- and this may be a bit of a silly question, but how do I know it is legit and not written by a friend?

This agent doesn't care about you. They are talking rot. never use them. You are going to do an IN DEPTH investigation of the candidate. You can ask the past landlord to show you some ID, and then pay £3 to look them up on the land registry for example. You phone the employer via their switchboard after getting consent. Use your detective brain.

And lots and lots of banking information....

[flyingfreehold]

LinkedIn is rubbish and barely anyone updates it. Don't rely on it for anything.

not so in the tech field or banking where people pay 50 quid a month or more in rent to Microsoft to have premium service

[DoricPixie]

annam222 as you are asking tenants for all this referencing material which may include bank statements, are you registered with the ICO? How are you going to store all this personal information?

[annam222]

DoricPixie I haven’t decided we to get bank statements.