Comic makes headlines after taking on landlord
Australian comedian Tom Cashman is looking to start a trend that could help revolutionise the rental market.
While on his search for a new apartment in Sydney, Tom was successful on an application for a property that “wasn’t my favourite”, but he decided to seize his opportunity.
Tom emailed the real estate agent handling the rental property to request something he’s “never asked for before”.
He went on to ask the agent for a “landlord reference”, which would involve the landlord of the property providing feedback from a past tenant.
Tom argues that turning the tables on the rental application dynamic could make for a more honest and informed arrangement from both the landlord and prospective tenants.
“It occurs to me I’ve never heard anyone ask for this, but they [the landlord] ask me for like three references to see if I’m a good guy; what about them?” Mr Cashman said in the social media post.
“Are you [the landlord] a good guy? Are you going to fix stuff? Are you going to reply to my emails, or are you just going to ignore me once I’m in there?”
Documenting the experience on his social media accounts, Tom updated his followers when he got a response from the leasing agent.
The agent asked for clarification on what Tom meant, and when he elaborated, the agent claimed the landlord did not want to provide a reference, saying it was “not a requirement”.
After more back and forth via email, Tom was shocked when his previously successful application to rent the property was withdrawn.
Since his experience has gone viral, the Real Estate Institution of Australia has backed Tom’s idea, saying a landlord reference is a “reasonable 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?” Real Estate Institute of Australia president Hayden Groves told the ABC.
Image credits: Getty Images / Instagram @tomcashman1