Where can I obtain information on CCJ's etc?

[Duck]

I feel very let down by my letting agent whom I trusted to find me good tenants. Having now seen the references I can see that they are wholly inadequate.

Due to the tenants behaviour with regard to the rent and many other aspects of the AST I am convinced that they have a bad past record as tenants.

Can someone point me in the right direction to obtain information regarding County Court Judgements etc please. I want to find out just how badly I have been let down by the LA.

A Section 8 and Section 21 have already been served.

Thank you in anticipation, Sam.

[Richlist]

You could try these people:

http://www.tenantid.co.uk/index.php?q=welcome-tenantid

You could also wise up to best practice.......here are some examples:

The most important thing that any potential landlord can do is choose their tenants very very carefully.
1. Get Referencies.....bank, employer and previous landlord.
2. Take out rent guarantee insurance.....its not expensive.
3. Get a home owning guarantor. Carry out reference checks on the guarantor. Give the guarantor a copy of the AST. Make sure the guarantor document is drawn up as a deed.
4. Don't let to people with pets or children......the risk of them giving you problems are big.
5. Don’t let to anyone under 18 (minors). Draw up your own limits….I prefer nobody under 25.
6. Don't let to smokers........you won't get rid of the smell.
7. Don’t do Company lets.
8. Don’t let to anyone on Housing Benefits.
8a. If you do choose to let to applicants on Housing Benefit CHECK that your mortgage & freeholder (if your property is leasehold) allows it.
9. Don't let to anyone who isn't working full time.
10. Inspect properties every 3 months.
11. Only let initially on a 6 month AST.....that way you can both part company after 6 months if you don't get on.
12. Use a reputable Lettings Agent OR one who has been recommended OR do it yourself (only if you know what to do).
13. Meet your tenants personally. Make sure you ask all the right questions and gauge whether they are right for you.
14. Protect the deposit in one of the official schemes.
14a. If you have a dispute with your tenant(s) over deductions from the deposit remember…..you can either go through the DPS adjudication process OR take the tenant to the Small Claims Court for recovery of your losses where you may have a better chance of success.
15. Issue a section 21 notice as soon as the deposit has been protected.
16. Make sure there is a detailed inventory & schedule of condition……signed by both parties.
17. Remember its a business....so avoid emotion & being overly sympathetic to your tenants.
18. Read as much as you can about renting & letting i.e. educate yourself.
19. Don’t let to anyone who doesn’t speak or understand English.
20. Don’t forget that you will need an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)…….before you market the property.
21. Don’t forget to get an annual Gas Certificate.
22. You are responsible for ensuring anything electrical in the property is safe so consider getting the electrics checked professionally….and any appliances you provide.
23. Try to avoid having your property classified as an HMO……meeting regulations is expensive and time consuming.
24. Make sure all adults living at the property are on the AST & any other documents.

[Duck]

Thank you Richlist. Our properties are fully managed and this is our first problem and it is certainly a "Baptism by Fire". We are on a steep learning curve here. One is not aware of a LA's inadequacies until things go wrong. Also these tenants know how to play the system. I will try the link you suggest tonight.

I'm going to print your list out for my future reference, ( I ought to print one out for my LA as well ! )

Thanks again, Sam.

[Richlist]

One is not aware of a LA's inadequacies until things go wrong.

That may be the case but what effort did you make to ensure your lettings agent ticked all the right boxes ?

Did you ask.....

* How long they have been in business.

* What experience they have.

* What qualifications they have.

* In paticular what quallificattions and experiece the person deaing with your property will have.

* If they belong to any trade bodies.

* What you could expect for the fee.

* What additional services they offer.

* Diid you provide them with a tenant specification ? etc etc etc

Here's mine:

TENANT SELECTION CRITERIA

Applications from the following people are not acceptable under any circumstances

• Smokers.
• Pet owners (specifically dogs, cats or reptiles).
• Non English speakers.
• Those with resident children.
• Anyone in receipt of housing benefit or LHA.
• Those wanting Company lettings.
• Any letting that would results in overcrowding (eg parents with children in a 1 bedroom flat).
• Anyone running a business or commercial operation directly from the property.
• Applicants who have long lead times to moving in.

Applications from the following people will depend on circumstances

• Non working tenants…..including part time workers, unemployed, those looking for work, university students with/ without working partner are each considered on their own merits.
• Non resident children…..eg single, divorced, separated parent who looks after a child every other weekend may be OK. Would depend primarily on age of children.
• Lettings for less than 6 months…..normally requires higher rent to cover fixed costs.
• Poor references or no references or don’t qualify for RGI…..may require a home owning guarantor or rent period in advance.
• Age under 25......depends on the person, circumstances, maturity, job etc.

[Duck]

In reply to Richlist,

The agent we use is large and does a lot of business in our area. They are very aware of our target tenant and have not failed us before.

Our regret here is placing too much trust in one person.

We have property in another area and have placed similar trust in a letting agent there too and have never had a problem. After this experience we will certainly take a more active roll in vetting tenants.

Getting back to my original mission, is it possible to obtain a record of past County Court Judgements imposed on a person? is this information in the public domain ? I have had a look at the site that Richlist suggests above but this is more about vetting prospective tenants having gained their permission to do so.

[Richlist]

Yes it is possible athough I can't help with any links.

I always take rent gauarantee insurance and the insurers criteria involves carrying out the vetting and credit checks which includes checking on CCJ's. My agents handle all that ''stuff' for me so I don't get involved.

Any applicant is quized on CCJ's etc before being vetted. That way they don't waste their application fee......if they choose to lie or have a poor memory they will waste their applicattion fee as its not refundable.

One CCJ = failed application as far as I am concerned. There are so many good quality prospective tenants around there seems no point in accepting anyone with a CCJ.

Perhaps some of the lettings agents who contribute to this site will post shortly.

[Richlist]

Here's another link.......

http://www.tenantshistory.co.uk/

[Duck]

Thank you Richlist for your help and advice, it is appreciated.

I have found the register that I have been looking for, it is at :

http://www.trustonline.org.uk/

They charge £4.00 per search and require the individuals address at the time the CCJ was registered. They don't link addresses so to achieve an effective search, the individuals addresses over the last 6 years would need to be known as the CCJ's are removed from the register after this time.

[Richlist]

That doesn't sound particularly useful. You are often unlikely to get applicants addresses for the last 6 years and they will probably have moved since their CCJ was awarded.

[Duck]

That doesn't sound particularly useful. You are often unlikely to get applicants addresses for the last 6 years and they will probably have moved since their CCJ was awarded.

Your dead right Richlist, I don't even know the T's last address before we were landed with them. I put the link and information there because it may help or be of interest to other forum users. I would imagine that Experian and others who subscribe to this database over the years probably do link all the addresses to the individual but to get a report from them I would need the T's permission and at this stage I don't think they would be very cooperative.

[Richlist]

Put your time & effort into improving your process rather than chasing info that probably won't help you much with your current tenants.

Change your tenants &/or your agents and either take rent guarantee insurance or insist on seeing references & credit checks BEFORE YOU agree to accept future tenants. Your agents work for you, not vice versa.

[snorkerz]

Your dead right Richlist, I don't even know the T's last address before we were landed with them. I put the link and information there because it may help or be of interest to other forum users. I would imagine that Experian and others who subscribe to this database over the years probably do link all the addresses to the individual but to get a report from them I would need the T's permission and at this stage I don't think they would be very cooperative.

An independent 'credit check' should reveal previous & linked addresses together with CCJs. Our basic one certainly does and I suspect all others do.

[Grampa]

You should also get written permission before doing the credit check as it leaves a footprint against the person being checked.

Too many footprints within a period of time can effect your credit rating.

[Guest missionrestoration]

You could try these people:

http://www.tenantid.co.uk/index.php?q=welcome-tenantid

You could also wise up to best practice.......here are some examples:

The most important thing that any potential landlord can do is choose their tenants very very carefully.

1. Get Referencies.....bank, employer and previous landlord.

2. Take out rent guarantee insurance.....its not expensive.

3. Get a home owning guarantor. Carry out reference checks on the guarantor. Give the guarantor a copy of the AST. Make sure the guarantor document is drawn up as a deed.

4. Don't let to people with pets or children......the risk of them giving you problems are big.

5. Don’t let to anyone under 18 (minors). Draw up your own limits….I prefer nobody under 25.

6. Don't let to smokers........you won't get rid of the smell.

7. Don’t do Company lets.

8. Don’t let to anyone on Housing Benefits.

8a. If you do choose to let to applicants on Housing Benefit CHECK that your mortgage & freeholder (if your property is leasehold) allows it.

9. Don't let to anyone who isn't working full time.

10. Inspect properties every 3 months.

11. Only let initially on a 6 month AST.....that way you can both part company after 6 months if you don't get on.

12. Use a reputable Lettings Agent OR one who has been recommended OR do it yourself (only if you know what to do).

13. Meet your tenants personally. Make sure you ask all the right questions and gauge whether they are right for you.

14. Protect the deposit in one of the official schemes.

14a. If you have a dispute with your tenant(s) over deductions from the deposit remember…..you can either go through the DPS adjudication process OR take the tenant to the Small Claims Court for recovery of your losses where you may have a better chance of success.

15. Issue a section 21 notice as soon as the deposit has been protected.

16. Make sure there is a detailed inventory & schedule of condition……signed by both parties.

17. Remember its a business....so avoid emotion & being overly sympathetic to your tenants.

18. Read as much as you can about renting & letting i.e. educate yourself.

19. Don’t let to anyone who doesn’t speak or understand English.

20. Don’t forget that you will need an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)…….before you market the property.

21. Don’t forget to get an annual Gas Certificate.

22. You are responsible for ensuring anything electrical in the property is safe so consider getting the electrics checked professionally….and any appliances you provide.

23. Try to avoid having your property classified as an HMO……meeting regulations is expensive and time consuming.

24. Make sure all adults living at the property are on the AST & any other documents.

You have mention almost all information, thanks for sharing this. Keep sharing such type of information, I got almost all answers of my quarries.