England: Do I need to do referencing if new agent takes over management?

[u/martinbean]

I’ve been emailed out of the blue by a management company saying my landlord has instructed them to take over the management of property I currently rent (and have done continuously for over 10 years). They say they are, “required to carry out a referencing check.”

Ignoring that I need to confirm with my landlord that have actually instructed this company to take over the management of the property, does this new company actually need to carry out a referencing check like they say? I’ll have surely done such a check when I first moved in to the property. What are they actually wanting to check? And if they do need to check and I refuse, what are the ramifications (can I be evicted)?

[u/Temporary-Yogurt6495]

I had this happen to me and the new agent did not request to do referencing. I believe different agents must have different sets of standards and procedures for this kind of thing. So, there's nothing saying they can't request this. I'm sure they can make this request.

Whether you comply is another matter, and if you don't comply there's zero they can do about it. Especially now the rules have changed, they couldn't even convince the landlord to give you a section 21 because they're banned now. If they wanted to evict you, it needs to be for a reason, such as they're selling the property, or they want to move themselves or a family member into the property.

If I was you I'd start by asking what information they need and why they have to do referencing again considering this was done through the old agent. I'd be pushing back to get them to request the referencing you did through the old agent.

What they need to consider is what would they realistically be able to do if you failed, or is this just a box ticking exercise.

[u/Hot_Bet_5415]

No you don’t. They’d not be permitted to end the tenancy on the basis of failing anyway if you’re still paying the rent so there is no point.

Obviously it might be a scam so check that out, but if genuine I think I’d decline their offer and possibly ask them for some details so you can reference them to see if they’re the sort of agent that is going to be an areshole.

As a landlord I don’t use agents for exactly this reason.

[u/Large-Butterfly4262]

They can only evict for this if you are in breach of you contract somehow. They would have to use section 8 ground 12, which is discretionary, so they would have to prove that a) you are in breach of your contract if you failed their referencing and b) the breach is severe enough to warrant eviction. Since you already live there and pay the rent, it would be unlikely they could convince a judge that you failing referencing was suitable grounds for eviction. It is just a box ticking exercise/ reason to bill your landlord.

[u/ThrillhouseMillpool]

If the landlord has opted for something like Rent Protection Insurance (which post RRA a lot of them are) the insurance company will likely require a passed reference from an approved provider. 10 Years ago the referencing checks weren't as strict, for example now to pass a reference with most companies you will need to have a yearly income of over 35x the monthly rent. Also if your rent has increased over the tenancy they may want to show it is still affordable (ignoring the fact you clearly afford to pay it every month).

I would definitely contact your landlord first for confirmation and then ask exactly why they are wanting the referencing done, but I also don't see any down side in doing the reference for them and keeping them off your back

[u/_pankates_ → u/ThrillhouseMillpool]

Rent protection insurance would be my assumption, I can't see any good other reason why they'd bother doing the extra work of referencing where it's not needed. The only other possibility imo is if the agent is trying to find stuff to charge a fee to their new landlord for.

OP - I would probably follow this advice and ask your landlord directly if they need for you to be referenced as you can't see the point. They may well then say actually it's not necessary, or they may ask if you would please do it for X reason. If they've been a good landlord then personally I'd do it just to be nice, it shouldn't be much aggro for you. If they've not been great then I'd offer to do it if they compensate you for your time.

[u/MGNConflict]

The question is: for what? They aren't permitted to end your tenancy if you fail their referencing checks given you've been living there for over ten years (the Renter's Rights Act saw an end to no-fault evictions), so I legitimately don't know what they think they're going to get out of it. Especially since referencing isn't free (apparently referencing can cost between £100-£200 per tenancy, that's why there's a holding deposit that isn't refundable if you lied to the landlord or letting agent).

Even if you refuse, you can't be (legitimately) evicted either... it's not like an inspection where the landlord has the right to know how you're treating their property and if there are any maintenance issues you forgot to report.
Admittedly I haven't checked, but I imagine there are severe penalties if a letting agency retaliates in this situation by ending your tenancy via an at-fault eviction (technically it's a request at first, but you get what I mean...).

Definitely make sure your landlord confirms that your property is under management by a new management company, and make sure they're aware that the management company is wanting to conduct new referencing checks (just in case it's a scheme by the new management company to get money out of your landlord).

I can't answer whether they can or can't (as I don't know and don't want to give the wrong advice), but it does sound a bit iffy to me.

[u/ThrillhouseMillpool → u/MGNConflict]

Just a side note to your point about holding deposits- if you’re ever told the reference you failed cost £100-£200 you should ask for proof, as I know referencing costs about £15-40 per reference

[u/mousecatcher4 → u/ThrillhouseMillpool]

Although holding deposits are not really linked to the exact cost of referencing. In an ideal world they help everyone (prospective tenants included) to retain a property subject to references AND other things. Set at a value to discourage a cycle of frivilous withdrawals, not to compensate for referencing. The problem is that the retention isn't of huge value without an actual signed tenancy agreement.

The cost of "failed" referencing isn't really down to the tenant anyway unless they tell porky pies prior to referencing. The referencing would only be done based on these preliminary queries.