# Looking for house to rent: "Letters of reference"



## bangalg (Apr 22, 2009)

Hi,
I am looking at various ads for homes on rent. Typically, the Agent has asked prospective tenants to carry (amongst other things) a 'written letter of reference' from the previous tenant/ agent.
I have a couple of queries on that:

a. Obviously there is no 'previous tenant' for new residents of Australia. So I suppose another long-term resident's letter should serve the purpose
b. Should these be hand-written or typed and signed letters are fine?
c. Can they be from practically anyone who has stayed in Aus for 2-3 years or should they be from a 'local'?

Any format/ link that anyone can share in this regard? Thanks.


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## adsghosh (Dec 14, 2011)

bangalg said:


> Hi,
> I am looking at various ads for homes on rent. Typically, the Agent has asked prospective tenants to carry (amongst other things) a 'written letter of reference' from the previous tenant/ agent.
> I have a couple of queries on that:
> 
> ...




Hi Bangalg, I live in melbourne now and used to live in Holland. I got a signed letter from my holland landlord for reference which includes his email and phone numbers. I typed that letter out i.e its my own format and got it signed by him. I made a couple of copies in the event that I need them for a couple of applications. This format was good with most agents that I met. Hope they are useful to you. Good Luck with your search


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## Pradiprn (Jul 21, 2011)

bangalg said:


> Hi,
> I am looking at various ads for homes on rent. Typically, the Agent has asked prospective tenants to carry (amongst other things) a 'written letter of reference' from the previous tenant/ agent.
> I have a couple of queries on that:
> 
> ...


If you have had a rental history in India. you can get the letters from the landlord there. If there is no rental history then you need to mention that and say that you had your own house.

I did not have any references to provide. the one that i could give was the one from the serviced apartment that I lived in for the first few weeks in australia

So i basically had a covering letter which said that I did not have rental references and the only reference available is the serviced apartment and that I had my own house and so i understand the need to maintain the property and will do it well etc

So in the absence of rental references it will be useful to write a covering letter, I typed one and had multiple copies of it so I could give it wherever I went. as proof that I had my own property i used to attach the NOC received from the bank for clearing the mortgage I had on my home.


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## rvijaysubs (Dec 25, 2011)

Pradiprn said:


> If you have had a rental history in India. you can get the letters from the landlord there. If there is no rental history then you need to mention that and say that you had your own house.
> 
> I did not have any references to provide. the one that i could give was the one from the serviced apartment that I lived in for the first few weeks in australia
> 
> ...


And along with that, I am planning to take pictures of my current house and probably record a video using my phone to show it to the agent/owner. Yeah, it sounds really weird but who knows, this might just work.

I believe references are required just to verify that the tenant was of good nature, he/she did not damage the house in any possible way and that he/she kept the house in a clean state. Show them the photos/videos of your well maintained house and that could do the trick.


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## Pradiprn (Jul 21, 2011)

rvijaysubs said:


> And along with that, I am planning to take pictures of my current house and probably record a video using my phone to show it to the agent/owner. Yeah, it sounds really weird but who knows, this might just work.
> 
> I believe references are required just to verify that the tenant was of good nature, he/she did not damage the house in any possible way and that he/she kept the house in a clean state. Show them the photos/videos of your well maintained house and that could do the trick.


I will stop at photos. It may not be wise to do videos.


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## bangalg (Apr 22, 2009)

Hey-thanks Pradiprn, Ghosh and Vijay. I will get a reference letter from the current owner where I have been staying for 3 weeks and also get some "general" character references from Australian residents.


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## Maz25 (Jul 6, 2008)

You can get a letter from your previous landlord or alternatively, obtain a letter from your employer stating that you are employed and capable of paying the rent. The latter always strengthens your application if you are a new migrant.

Most agents will also ask for two personal referees who can vouch for you, so select people who can comment on your ability to keep a house clean and manage your financial affairs.

As one poster said, I also did not have a local reference when I first arrived. I provided the contact details of my previous landlord abroad and also the agent spoke to my cousin who has obviously known me for a lifetime and she provided a reference over the phone, which the agent was happy to accept.


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