Reference for Bad Tenants?
I have nightmare tenants who I have all ready begun eviction proceedings against. Their lease ends in two weeks and I have obviously let them know I will not be renewing their lease. Their position is they will leave when/if they find a new place. They owe me two months back rent at this point….
I have nightmare tenants who I have all ready begun eviction proceedings against. Their lease ends in two weeks and I have obviously let them know I will not be renewing their lease. Their position is they will leave when/if they find a new place. They owe me two months back rent at this point. A woman just called saying she was thinking about renting them an apartment to them and asked if I could provide a reference. Obviously ethically I do not feel right about providing them a positive reference, but I do want them out. It’s a bit of a Catch 22. What do I do?
Manhattanite, is there an actual blacklist or is that just urban myth?
Actually, thinking about it, my lawyer also let wide open the definition of “a reference”. Well played. Way to earn that $395 an hour.
Well, I actually called my lawyer to address this. He told me to say something akin to, “I would be happy to provide a reference when they leave the property in a timely manner.” Yes, that leaves the scenario that they left in a timely manner owing me money wide open, but I’m not a lawyer. I went with nothing. I didn’t return the other landlords calls, and sent a text to the tenants telling them not to use me as a reference. Is it ethically pure? Probably not, but is a form of pragmatism that gets the job done and lets me sleep at night.
Wait – isn’t there a blacklist that landlords use to list tenants who cause problems? Or is it just the list of tenants who file claims in housing court? Assuming you are filing a claim for back rent, won’t they be added to this blacklist?
(And poster could always simply refer callers to the public record, and say it’s their position not to comment personally.)
If the prospective landlord is doing her due diligence, she’ll find the housing court filings. I would continue with the eviction proceedings and get them out as quickly as inexpensively as possible. You are not obliged to give a reference, and as I always counsel “The least said the better.”I would not give a reference. If you can’t get a reference from your current landlord, something is seriously wrong. When I moved from Manhattan to Queens, the Queens landlord wanted a reference from the Manhattan one. What that reference said was that I was a tenant from x to x and that I complied with the lease agreement (including paying rent).
Under no circumstances give a reference that paints them as model tenants. I’ve heard of people getting into trouble for that too.
folks have sued corporations for their coffee being too hot.
the point isn’t whether or not deepbtuz would win the case if tenant decided to sue. frivolous lawsuits cost time and money too.
i’m surprised that landords still call the current landlord for a reference in good faith. it’s probably one of the oldest tricks in the books to have a current landlord give a stellar reference for a lousy tenant JUST to get them out of the apartment.
denton is correct: If you had specific problems with a tenant, it’s your obligation to pass on that information. Do you want other landlords to lie and pass bad tenants on to you? The lawyers I live with assure that there is no liability when you report specifics correctly (they still owe me two months rent, they refused to vacate when the lease was up, etc.). What a reference is for is to verify to the next landlord that the client is who and what they say they are. Reporting factual information is never slander.
sorry to disappoint but yes you CAN be sued for giving a bad reference (employment or otherwise). why does this even surprise anyone?
you might win the case but the folks already owe you ~2000 for rent, extra court time isn’t worth it. truthful or not
i wouldn’t return the call.
I would just let it go and not give any reference.
Simple cause this could be entrapment, they could be friends of those tenants pretending to be landlords calling to see what you would say.