Real Estate Institute of Australia backs Sydney comedian who asked landlord for tenant referees

A renter whose cheeky request for his new landlord to provide a reference from a previous tenant backfired has had surprising support from Australia’s peak real estate industry body.

Sydney comedian Tom Cashman, a regular on The Project, decided to flip the script and ask for proof that previous tenants were satisfied living under the owner who had approved his application to rent studio apartment in the city’s eastern suburbs. 

But after exchanging emails about the request with an unimpressed property manager, Mr Cashman’s application was unexpectedly withdrawn.

As Mr Cashman’s house hunt continues, Real Estate Institute of Australia president Hayden Groves weighed into the saga by backing the rejected tenant.  

Mr Groves said he had no issue providing a landlord reference if a potential tenant requested one.

Mr Groves also believes most landlords would be happy to oblige with the untraditional request.

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?’ he told the ABC. 

What Mr Groves doesn’t want to see is a formalised system which may put real estate agents in a tricky legal position.

He fears a proposed landlord registry would discourage owners from renting out their properties.

He also claimed tenants’ rights are already well protected.  

‘We’re seeing landlords choosing not to buy residential investment properties in some jurisdictions because the weighting of residential tenancies laws are too far in favour of the tenant right now,’ Mr Groves said.

But NSW Tenant’s Union CEO Leo Patterson-Ross would like to see a formal registration scheme which allows tenants to look up prospective landlords on searchable databases to check on any complaints upheld against them previously. 

Such a scheme has recently been introduced in Scotland, costing landlords $117. 

Tom Cashman’s cheeky request for his new landlord to provide a reference has backfired, but he reckons renters shouldn’t be afraid to follow his lead (Pictured: Mr Cashman and former housemate Becky Lucas after winning a bogus claim against his bond over an alleged ant infestation)

Mr Patterson-Ross told Daily Mail Australia that Mr Cashman was right to point out the problem.

‘It’s a really important principle to raise that the power imbalance is there and what are the implications for the way we regulate and think of tenancy contracts,’ he said. 

‘Most tenancy laws assume there’s equal parties coming together, but that’s not most people’s experience.’

Mr Cashman had already been approved for the studio apartment in Sydney’s eastern suburbs at $380 a week before he cheekily asked for the reference. 

The agent, Stephanie, apparently didn’t see the funny side of the request, after initially claiming she didn’t understand the question.

‘The owner does not wish to contact the previous tenants and it is not a requirement,’ she wrote back to him.

Poll

Should landlords provide references from former tenants?

  • Yes 598 votes
  • No 158 votes

‘Good luck with your property search.’ 

Then ‘within that same minute’ she cancelled Mr Cashman’s application, which generated an automatic notification.

‘The response was a bit more intense than I was expecting,’ Mr Cashman said in a video, which he posted to his Instagram and TikTok accounts.

‘I thought it was a reasonable request,’ he told Daily Mail Australia.

‘I’ve had good landlords and bad ones and the difference can have a pretty big impact on you.’ 

He did not want to name the agency or the agent’s surname because ‘I’m not interested in getting anyone fired’.

‘I also still need to find a home to rent,’ he said.

However Mr Cashman admitted Stephanie might find his way into his routine at the upcoming Melbourne Comedy Festival. 

He felt the incident revealed an ‘unfair power dynamic’ between agents and tenants.

‘Most of the time when you sign a contract you have some idea of who you are dealing with,’ he said.

Renter Tom Cashman asked his property manager if she could get the landlord to provide a reference from previous tenants. She replied saying she didn't understand the request (pictured, Mr Cashman's clarification)

Stephanie replied saying she didn't understand the request, so he asked again. Shortly after, she refused and cancelled his application

Renter Tom Cashman asked his property manager if she could get the landlord to provide a reference from previous tenants. She replied saying she didn’t understand the request, so he asked again (pictured, Mr Cashman’s correspondence with ‘Stephanie’)

‘It seems pretty reasonable information to ask for before signing a contract for tens of thousands of dollars to ask who they are, because for some reason it’s a secret.

‘Why does someone need to be secret in a commercial relationship? 

‘I don’t think I even agree with the argument that it’s “normal practice”.’

Mr Cashman, a renter for 10 years, has had issues with landlords before and once had to defend himself over bogus claims of an ant infestation in a unit where he’d never actually seen an ant.

He was asked to pay $100 for the removal of the ‘ant infestation’ after leaving a tenancy in the inner Sydney suburb of Leichhardt – but refused. The agent’s proof was a photo of ‘four ants on a bench’.

Mr Cashman fought the claim and won.

‘I argued that four ants is not enough to constitute an ant infestation,’ he said.

He admitted he asked Stephanie the question about the landlord reference because he had other options and wasn’t desperate.

He suggested other tenants in a similar position should also ask. 

‘The more people that do it, the more normal it will become,’ he said.  

Mr Cashman has since welcomed Real Estate Institute of Australia’s support with a cheeky response.

‘Hoping Stephanie sees this,’ he posted on Friday.

Tom Cashman's house hunt continues after his cheeky request for a landlord reference from a previous tenant was denied

Tom Cashman’s house hunt continues after his cheeky request for a landlord reference from a previous tenant was denied

Many online agreed with Mr Cashman and revealed their own horror stories with landlords.

‘My last landlord hung a dead pigeon on a stake in my front yard. I definitely would like any future tenants to know that,’ Sinead wrote on TikTok.

‘My last landlord said “I’m not going to spend money fixing things in a house I don’t live in”. I wish I couldn’t told the next tenants that,’ wrote Lila.

Even a landlord agreed.

‘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,’ wrote Joeyanna.

Several also suggested leaving Google reviews on real estate agents – which could help keep agents accountable, but not owners.

Other renters thanked Mr Cashman on speaking out.

‘This is so brilliant, as a tenant I have lived without a stove, a blocked toilet for 24 hours, landlords storing their property in our rental, a/c not being fixed because they were on holiday…I could go on. I also think we should rate real estate agents, they are firmly in the landlords pockets,’ one wrote.

Mr Cashman (right) said he's had good landlords and bad ones and the difference can have a big impact on renters' lives

Mr Cashman (right) said he’s had good landlords and bad ones and the difference can have a big impact on renters’ lives 



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