Hello, I've had lodgers on and off all my life, with no significant difficulties, generally a very positive experience. But I've moved to a new (poorer) area, and the last two years here have been very difficult - we've had one lodger after another who has turned out to have serious mental health issues, one turned out to have a history of violence. I've had such awful experiences with the last three , including one who assaulted me and was removed by police and emergency psychiatric team, I'm wondering if it's legal for me to ask for a note from their GP to confirm they have no psychiatric history, or known issues of addictions or hoarding etc. Does anyone know? I already have lodgers vetted first by a local agency, who charge £150 to confirm identity, CCJ record, previous record of paying rent, confirmation of employment and references from at least one previous landlord. While the references should flag up issues, of course the referee can be very motivated to help someone move somewhere else! Is it legal to ask for a medical letter? Thanks
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You have identified the primary source of your problem by changing the demographic of your anticipated customer group. Like a reference, you can ask for any information you like (as long as it isn't discriminatory) but the lodger/customer has absolutely no legal obligation to supply the information.
After a quick musing, I may also be consider that asking about certain mental health issues to aid the selection process may be a breach of the Equality Act 2010 through disability.I may be a housing professional but my views, thoughts, opinions, advice, criticisms or otherwise on this board are mine and are not representative of my company, colleagues, managers. I am here as an independent human being who simply wants to learn new stuff, share ideas and interact with like minded people. -
You can get the referencing and credit checking you mention much cheaper from a number of reputable online agencies. I pay £20 per tenant for instanceComment
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vetting lodgers
Thank you very much for replies. It's helpful to know I can do the vetting on line more cheaply, I'll make a note of that. Yes, it was the Equality Act that was in my mind, I think, with the question of discrimination, but then there's also the issue of DBS checks apparently not being possible. That's as much a problem. I have found it is not uncommon for people enquiring about lodging to withdraw once they realise there are background checks. Using a local PI?!
Thanks again.Comment
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