Character reference for Tobias Renard, from Helen Marchetti

Character reference letter template built on two things the writer saw

A character reference is only worth reading when the writer says how they know the person, for how long, and what they actually watched them do. This one gives seven years as a next door neighbour, states there is no family tie and no interest in the outcome, and then describes two dated incidents.

Create a document with OneCraft1 A4 page, editable, then download as a PDF

The document, page by page

Every page as it renders and as it prints, with nothing summarised. Read the wording before you reuse it.

Helen Marchetti

9 Cobden Street, Ashford · 0428 115 907 · helen.marchetti@outmail.example

2 September 2026
Quill and Roe Property
Attention: Leasing Team
Re: rental application by Tobias Renard for 14 Ellery Lane, Ashford

Character reference for Tobias Renard

To whom it may concern, I have been Tobias Renard’s next door neighbour at 9 and 11 Cobden Street for seven years, since he moved in during 2019. We are neighbours and friends, not family, and I have no interest in his application. I am a theatre nurse, I have never written a reference before, and I have kept this to two things I saw myself.

He looked after a house that was not his for eleven weeks

When I had a knee replacement in March 2025 he collected my mail, put the bins out, mowed both front lawns and drove me to two appointments, for eleven weeks, without being asked twice.

He told the truth about damage that cost him money

In January 2026 a branch off his gum tree cracked two sheets of my fence in a storm. He knocked that night, said it was his tree, and paid a fencer $940 before I asked for anything.

In seven years I have never known him loud, late with anything he promised, or difficult with anyone in the street. I would be glad to have him next door for another seven years, which is the most honest thing I can say about a neighbour.

Call me on 0428 115 907 with any question about this reference. I am on shift most weekdays until 3 pm.

Yours faithfully,

Helen Marchetti, neighbour

Date

Section by section

What each section is for, so you can keep the ones you need and drop the rest.

Letterhead and addressee: Helen Marchetti's own monogram letterhead, 2 September 2026, to Quill and Roe Property with a re line naming the applicant and the property.
Subject: Character reference for Tobias Renard.
How she knows him: Next door for seven years since 2019, friends but not family, no interest in the application, never written a reference before.
Example one: Eleven weeks of mail, bins, lawns and lifts to appointments after a knee replacement in March 2025.
Example two: A storm in January 2026, two cracked fence sheets, an admission the same night and $940 paid before being asked.
What seven years shows: Never loud, never late on a promise, never difficult with the street, and welcome for another seven years.
Contact: A direct mobile number and the hours she can be reached.
Signature block: One party, Helen Marchetti, neighbour, with a date line.

How to adapt this document

For a job application, replace the two neighbourly examples with two pieces of work the writer saw finished, each with a date and an outcome that can be checked, and say plainly whether the writer ever supervised the person, since a peer reference and a manager reference are read differently. For a tenancy where the applicant has no rental history, keep this shape and add a sentence on how the applicant kept their current home, because the gap the agent is trying to fill is evidence of looking after a property. For a community or membership application, name the group, how often the writer saw the applicant there and over what period, and drop the statement about having no interest, since involvement in the same group is the point rather than a conflict.

What makes this document work

The relationship is declared before any praise

Next door neighbour at 9 and 11 Cobden Street for seven years since 2019, neighbours and friends but not family, and no interest in the application. A reader who knows the writer has nothing to gain reads the rest differently from one who suspects a relative wrote it.

Two examples, both with a date and a cost

Eleven weeks of mail, bins, lawns and lifts to appointments after a knee replacement in March 2025, and a storm in January 2026 where he knocked that night, said the gum tree was his and paid a fencer $940. Specific, dated, and the second one cost him money.

A phone number with the hours attached

The closing paragraph gives 0428 115 907 and says she is on shift most weekdays until 3 pm. A reference nobody can reach is the same as no reference, and telling the agent when to call is what converts an offer to be contacted into an actual call.

Questions people ask

Who should write a character reference?

Someone who has seen the person over time and is not related to them. A neighbour, a coach, a long standing colleague or a community group leader all work. A family member is discounted automatically, and a friend of a few months has nothing to draw on, which is why this letter opens with seven years.

How long should a character reference be?

One page, and rarely more. Two well chosen examples beat six adjectives, and a reader deciding between applicants is skimming for something concrete they can picture. Anything longer usually means the writer has restated the same quality in different words, which reads as padding and makes the strong parts harder to find.

What should a character reference never say?

Anything the writer did not see, anything about money they cannot verify, and any promise about future behaviour. A neighbour cannot vouch for someone's income or guarantee rent. Keeping to observed facts is also what keeps the writer out of trouble if the reference is later questioned.

Is a character reference for court different?

Yes, and materially. A court reference has to acknowledge that the writer knows what the charges are, and courts have their own expectations about form and content. The structure here of relationship, years, specific examples and contact details carries across, but the acknowledgement of the charge does not appear in a rental reference.

Should the reference be addressed to a person?

To a person where one is named, and to whom it may concern where one is not, as here. What matters more is the re line that names the applicant and the property, because agents handle many applications and a reference that cannot be matched to a file is set aside.

Does the writer need the applicant's permission?

Yes, and it should be explicit. The applicant is asking for personal details about themselves to be given to a third party, and the writer should also be comfortable that their own phone number is being handed out. A short message confirming both is enough.

Build your own in about a minute

The button below opens the generator with this use case already described. Change the wording to match your own, generate, then edit anything you like.

Make one like this

Sources

Written and checked by the OneCraft team. Last checked 20 September 2026.