We are aware references may be required when applying for rental properties in Oz. Can these references be written by relatives who live in Australia? Can they be written by people who live in the country you have lived in prior to moving to Oz? Could it be a previous employer? Any help greatly appreciated.

Hi,

We used our Aunt to give us a reference - as we had only been in the country for 4 weeks. We didn't get her to write anything down - just gave her phone number to the person requesting the reference.

We also offered to put down a years worth of rental cash up front

Thanks sasbear, I was unsure if the reference had to be from someone less 'biased' if you know what I mean.

The first rental we lived in was a brand new house just built we didnt have any references as we owned our own home in the uk, the real estate agent requested 6 months up front because of this plus bond on the promise the house would be completed too cut a long story short the grass wasnt put down for months we had soil in our front and back gardens for the first 5months if we hadn't put 6 months down we would have just left but felt kind of trapped because we didnt want to lose out on the money.

We are now renting but privately the couple we rent from our lovely i would be very wise renting from a real estate agents again once they have your money they dont seem to care in my experience, if you do end up paying months in advance make sure everything is done in the house before you move in.

kezx

They will accept a reference from your current employer (in Australia).

And what if your not employed? will they accept a reference from your previous employer? or your partners existing employer in another country?

Not sure. Basically one of the main things the Agents want is proof of employment or offer of employment. That's what we found, guess others have different experiences.

we took refs from previous employers in the UK as well as from previous landlords
plus copies of bank statements showing healthy balances
to me it appeared to come down to which of the applicants appeared to offer the least risk

Cheers Gedge and Mctree, thanks alot. Basically it seems you just take as much 'credibility' with you, the more the better.

We used our relocation agents as referees but in the end it was the fact that I had a good job that enabled us to rent.I think if you can pay up front you may be ok-we didnt have that much cash though.
Good luck Andy

I gave the name and number of someone I'd known via one of the forums but had actually only met a couple of weeks before. The agent rang her and she said she'd known me 20 years and house in the UK was immaculately kept.

haha!! Glad it worked out for you.
Andy thanks for your advice. My bf will still be employed in his current job when I move [he is not moving with me just yet] we are hoping the fact he is employed still will count for something.

Cheeky!

I just gave them a reference from someone my OH worked with in the UK, and a copy of our bank statement. We offered 6 months rent in advance, but she said they are not allowed to take it.

Cheers Wendy : )

Quick question for Poms who are currently renting - did the agents charge you for references?

Two of my workmates here in the UK have just been charged £250 for their references by a local real estate agent.