Back in the renters market (tenant, house, roommate, landlords)

[raubre]

Hi. I moved to Portland, Oregon a few years back and have been staying with some friends for a while. It's been over two years since I rented while living in Pittsburgh and was wondering about my rental history. I noticed some places ask for renter's history from two years, but if I wasn't renting at that time, should I use the people I am living with or my previous landlords? (I am not on a lease, just staying with them until I find a place.) I am giving them money to stay with them.

[AZ Manager]

You are renting from the people you were staying with so use it.

[brrabbit]

There's no such thing as "renter's history". All landlord can do is to ask for "references" and then call them. Give him a reference to your friends with whom you lived. Make sure they want you to live them, and won't say anything nasty about you.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

You have a landlord reference from Pittsburgh, so give that one. You'll give the friends as reference for the recent two years.

Personally, I don't accept friends or roommates as a landlord reference, so you may run into some resistance with that. You'll especially run into some resistance if the friends don't own that house. I really will not accept a tenant roommate as a landlord reference.

I'm surprised that you are running into a lot of management that only wants landlord reference for two years. All the landlords I know want two landlord references, not a 2 year reference.