Real Estate Experts Have Chimed In About That Viral Landlord Reference TikTok

Comedian and man who lives in houses Tom Cashman went viral this week after asking his real estate agent to provide a landlord reference before he agreed to move into a property.

And while this seems like a pretty reasonable request — considering tenants have to provide multiple — he quickly discovered that instead of providing him with one, the real estate agent withdrew his previously approved application.

But it turns out fellow renters aren’t the only ones who support the idea of knowing more about your landlord, with Tenants Victoria noting that there is room for landlord references to become the norm.

“Some of our smartest people are comedians, aren’t they? Tom Cashman really started something with his bold call for a landlord’s reference, and it’s definitely an idea worth exploring outside of TikTok,” Farah Farouque, Director of Community Engagement at Tenants Victoria told Junkee.

“Renters’ rights are a huge issue in the community given the growing numbers of people renting their homes while many are being priced out of buying a first home. Just because you rent, you are not a second-class citizen — and rental laws are being strengthened across the country to reflect the new realities of renting.

“We have different laws in each state and territory for renting. Here in Victoria, for example, while it’s common for an agent to ask for references from tenants before letting out a property to them, there’s actually no specific provision that it has to be done under current laws. It’s just become a common thing. So, similarly, there’s room for a new trend to emerge: a reference for a landlord from a former tenant.’

Even the president of the Real Estate Institute of Australia — who represents agents — Hayden Groves asserted the request wasn’t unreasonable.

“I think it’s quite a reasonable request for a tenant to say, ‘Look, I just want to get a bit of a feel for how the landlord is. Are they popping in all the time unannounced? Are they purporting to be looking at the garden or something like that?'” said Groves to the ABC.

“Counterproductive”

However, speaking to Junkee, Groves said any sort of mandating of landlord references would be counterproductive for tenants in Australia, citing the shortage of supply of properties available currently and noting that references could further disincentivize renting out your property.

“The vast majority of landlords have nothing to hide and would happily respond to reasonable questions from would-be tenants such as typical response times to maintenance requests, intent to sell, etc,” Groves told Junkee. “Tenants enjoy substantial protections from tenancy laws which are sufficient to protect their interests.”

While there are protections for renters, it’s not uncommon to hear landlord horror stories — ranging from issues with having your bond returned to urgent property repairs taking months to be arranged.

However, it’s worth noting that this is the norm in other countries like Scotland, where landlords are required to obtain a license and are listed on a publicly available database.

CEO of the Tenants’ Union of NSW Leo Patterson Ross, on the other hand, believes Australia should adopt a similar system.

“It makes perfect sense that if you’re entering into a contract, [potentially] worth tens of thousands of dollars a year, that you would want to know at least something about the people that you’re entering into a contract with,” Ross told the ABC.

As for Cashman, his property search continues but told the ABC he’s worried how his now-viral TikTok may impact the search.

“I think the more people ask for things like this, the more normalised it will become, and then perhaps the reaction of real estate agents won’t be so aggressive,” said Cashman.