Because many renters have fallen into arrears with their rent payments, landlords and letting agents are conducting more thorough checks before accepting a tenant. The Financial Times has the details:

“This is a pretty radical change,” said David Mumby, who runs Knight Frank’s Chelsea office. “We are doing much more thorough checks as putting tenants through a reference company is simply not enough any more.”

In some cases it is having to procure an indication of the tenants’ net wealth from their banks as well as guarantees from their employers that their jobs are permanent and not under threat, and details of their anticipated bonuses.

He said the most exhaustive checks were being done at the higher end of the market, on luxury flats or family houses in desirable boroughs such as Chelsea that would let for at least £1,000 a week. While tenant defaults had not yet become a big problem the “fear factor” had intensified in recent months as redundancies gathered pace, particularly in the City.

Read the full article.

Well, for tenants with excellent references this is good news, as this probably means less competition?!

It wouldn’t hurt for tenants to do some research on their future home as well. Land Registry offers a service called Find a Property which enables the download of title information for a £4.00 fee. Information contains property owner’s name, details of registered mortgages, other financial burdens and particulars of covenants benefiting or adversely affecting the property. In case there is a mortgage and you are worried, you can write to the lender and ask if the landlord is financially viable.