Tenants: How To Improve Your Past Rental References

Your landlord/letting agent should already have all the information they need to write a reference. However, the time it takes to find it may delay the process. By preparing some notes about key points of the tenancy, you can make the process quicker and easier for everyone.

Of course, your landlord/letting agent will probably want to double-check the facts, but at least you will have given them a helpful starting point. Be proactive and make a few notes based on the following topics:

A potential landlord will want reassurance that you aren’t going to cause any trouble or disruption. Overall, they will want to know if you carried out your responsibilities as a tenant and if you were pleasant to deal with. For a thorough breakdown of the rights and responsibilities of tenants (and landlords), check out this article from the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB).

Once you’ve gathered all your information, you can send it to your former landlord as described in the next step.

For many people, there’s nothing more terrifying than a blank page. Take the pressure off your landlord by emailing them some sample templates that they can easily tweak and return to you. Include these in the body of your email rather than attaching them as a separate document (or posting/giving handwritten examples). Once again, this makes it quicker and easier for your landlord/letting agent to reply.

Your initial message might read something like this:

Dear ____________ (landlord/letting agent’s name)

I hope this email finds you well.

I was wondering if you might be willing to write me a reference for my time living at _______________(address)? I would really appreciate having this as I move on.

I know that you’re busy, so I’ve gathered some key information about my time as your tenant. I’ve also included some sample reference templates that I found online. These can be tweaked and changed depending on what happened during the tenancy. There might be some useful phrases in both templates that you would like to mix and match.

It would be particularly helpful if you could include some contact details (whatever you’re comfortable with) in case the reader wants to ask some more questions about me.

Of course, I’m not trying to put words in your mouth! You might prefer to write the reference from scratch and might already have your own way of doing it. I’m just sending these in case they might be helpful or save you time.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Many thanks,

______________ (your name)

The above email is just a rough guide. Change it to:

You could also add in some friendly questions or comments about what you’ve both been doing lately.

After signing off the email, you could copy and paste in one or both of the following templates, along with the information you gathered.

Sample Template 1: Previous Rental in Ireland

(If your previous rental was abroad, adapt if necessary to suit the country you were in. For example, the RTB tenancy registration number would not be relevant. A different type of number may exist.)

Address

Date

Dear ____________/ To Whom it May Concern

This is a reference for ____________(tenant’s name).They were tenants in my property at __________(address) from ___________(date tenancy started) until ________________ (date tenancy ended). The RTB registration number for this tenancy was_____________(registration number).

____________ (tenant’s name) always paid their rent in full and on time. ________ (tenant’s name) promptly reported two maintenance issues when they arose. They were easy to communicate with as we arranged a suitable time for these to be fixed.

_______ (tenant’s name) kept the house in excellent condition and I have repaid their deposit in full.

_____ (tenant’s name) was always pleasant to deal with and has been respectful to the neighbours in the street. I never received any complaints about their behaviour or activities while they lived at my property. They gave me plenty of notice about moving out.

I would happily rent to them again and I recommend them as an excellent tenant.

Yours sincerely,

___________________

Sample Template 2: Previous Student Rental

Dear ____________/ To Whom it May Concern

_____________(tenant’s name) has been a tenant in my apartment for the past academic year. Two of their friends also lived there at the time. The group told me a few months ago that they would be moving out after their exams.

I have nearly always received my rent in full and on time. On one occasion, due to illness, the rent was two days late. However, ___________(tenant’s name) apologised as soon as they realised and it never happened again.

________(tenant’s name) and their friends were always mindful of the other residents in the building. They were quiet and respectful neighbours and never caused any problems.

The group took very good care of the apartment. On one occasion, they accidentally broke a picture but they reported it straight away and offered to pay for a new one.

I confidently recommend _____________(tenant’s name) as a trustworthy and pleasant tenant. Feel free to contact me at the address above by email at _________________(email address) or by phone ________________(phone number).

Yours sincerely,

__________________

Once you’ve received your reference, make sure to thank your landlord/letting agent for sending it on. Then have a read over it to check for the following points:

Follow up with your landlord about these if necessary. However, don’t follow up on spelling or grammar mistakes. That’s outside of your control. In any case, it can add authenticity to the reference.

Finally, send the reference (which is hopefully glowing) to your potential landlord/letting agent and relax!