Aussies Were Asked Whether They Think Landlords Should Supply References — And The Responses Are Eye-Opening

    This whole saga has really made me question the power dynamics of the Aussie rental market.

    Louise Gong
    by Louise Gong

    BuzzFeed Staff

    Finding, applying and getting approved for a rental property is an agonisingly stressful process as it is...

    Seinfeld / NBC

    And most tenants are simply resigned to the gamble that they won't end up with a scummy landlord.

    But what if you tried to find out pre-move precisely what kind of landlord you might be signing up for? One TikTok creator did just that.

    If you haven't seen it already, a TikTok by Sydney renter Tom Cashman has gone viral after he requested a landlord reference for an apartment he was approved for.

    In a stark display of the asymmetric power between tenants and landlords, shortly after Cashman pushed for a landlord's reference, the rental which he was approved for was...un-approved.

    On Reddit, the discussion continued, with user u/wllj asking whether anyone else had ever requested a landlord reference — and if it's about time this very basic request became a standard part of the renting process.

    With both landlords and tenants weighing in, this proposed course of action clearly struck an Aussie nerve. 

    Here are some of the best responses from both the TikTok and the Reddit thread:

    1. "Would be good if it wasn't already difficult enough to find a rental. If you tried that here in Brisbane, the real estate agency would just stick your application underneath the 99 other applicants for the property and not waste their time."

    — u/yabloodypelican

    Monsters, Inc. / Pixar, Walt Disney Pictures

    2. "My last landlord hung a dead pigeon on a stake in my front yard. I definitely would like any future tenants to know that."

    — TikTok, @Sineadofarrell

    3. "Not a bad idea, but what's stopping a landlord from asking one of their mates to knock something up?"

    "I've had great landlords and shithouse agents, enthusiastic agents acting as the face of absentee landlords, had good people on both sides (a rarity, but they exist)."

    — Reddit, u/nearly_enough_wine

    SpongeBob SquarePants / Nickelodeon

    4. "What needs to happen is the formation of a tenants' union with a permanent legal team that can actually prosecute cases against landlords and lobby for better tenant rights."

    — Reddit, u/1337nutz

    5. "You can, but what are you going to do if the landlord says "no"?"

    "Personally, I think it's a great idea, [but] until it's a legal requirement, a lot of the time it's going to end up like the bloke in the video — getting your application rejected and the REA moving on to the next applicant."

    — Reddit, u/GimmeSweetSweetKarma

    Austin Powers in Goldmember / New Line Cinema

    6. "I am a landlord — I would happily give out references, I think some sort of score sheet would be great to make it fair across the board..."

    — TikTok, @msjoeyanna

    7. "As a landlord, I would be completely open to this. We expect tenants to treat the house good [sic]. Why would be we [not] be held to the same standard?"

    — TikTok, @the_tiketytok

    8. "It's a landlord's market. You'll just be homeless."

    — Reddit, u/2341leg

    9. "My last landlord said: “I’m not going to spend money fixing things in a house I don’t live in.” Wish I could [have] told the next tenants that."

    — TikTok, @0lilahoney0

    10. "Yeah, unless [the] government steps in and does something major, renters have zero power at the moment."

    — Reddit, u/fued

    @@adijoshi11 / Unsplash, @kindelmedia / Pexels

    11. "In Germany there are tenant associations that you pay a fee to be a member of and they offer legal aid for disputes."

    They also offer examples for discounted rent i.e. a bathroom stops working, [so] you don't have to pay one third [of your] rent until it's fixed.

    — Reddit, u/jigswa

    12. "It's a great idea and I'm fully in support of it. But, in the current market, there's no leverage to do this successfully. Landlords/agencies hold the power and want money. They don't care if it's your money or the next guy's money."

    "There's hundreds of people lined up to give them money and be less work.

    The current system/market needs a complete overhaul for renters/buyers to have any hope and any agency at the table. Until then, we're just pissing in the wind."

    — Reddit, u/EvidenceRemote1425

    13. "God, if I’d have been able to get a landlord reference for my current place, there’s no way I’d have moved in."

    — TikTok, @amyvalentinexx

    Childish Gambino / Wolf+Rothstein / Liberator Music

    14. "Need to rate agents, but they will join forces and fight you. Landlords could get a lot out of knowing how shitty agents are."

    — Reddit, u/Penguin_in_the_sand

    15. "Probably the most useful piece of information is what amount of every previous tenants' bond was claimed by the landlord."

    "You get the number of previous tenants (maybe with dates) and the risk the landlord is going to take part/all of your bond."

    — Reddit, u/DrawsACartoon

    16. "Thing is, the real estate agents are your landlord. They manage the landlord's investment, so you should really be asking for references from the agency."

    — Reddit, u/Person_of_interest_

    17. And finally, "I can see the idea behind it, but can [also] see it be abused and not give the full picture. Plus, with the real estate agent/manager being the gateway between the two, I can see a massive conflict of interest."

    — Reddit, u/winadil

    What do you think? Would asking landlords for references from previous tenants be effective? Let us know in the comments below!

    Responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.