First time renting - worried about checks and references

alizee

no idea, i suppose, private landlords or council rented flats? i'm not very knowledgeable on this subject as you might have noticed, he-he

Irish-John_2

alizee wrote: »

no idea, i suppose, private landlords or council rented flats? i'm not very knowledgeable on this subject as you might have noticed, he-he

Surely if someone has a deposit the private landlord has to accept them? Strange. :eek:

alizee

probably not, i'm just saying private ll's can sometimes be a bit more understandable in some cases .. i think :-)

robcauson

Hi there,

Most of the tenant referencing companies will be looking at your income, your length of service and the permanency or length of your employment contract. It does vary between providers, but as far as income goes you'll generally need to be earning at least 2.5 times (your share of) the rent. The length of service rules tend to vary quite a lot, but if you've been there any less than 12 months you'll probably need a guarantor, especially if you're on a temporary contract. That said, if the contract is due to run for at least the length of the initial tenancy term you may find you don't need a guarantor.

For those with other types of income, the referencing company will be looking for proof of it. For self-employed people they'll want an accountant's reference, or copies of SA302s (self assessment forms); for those on income support or tax credits, for example, they'll want to see your letters proving those things. If there's a lack of proof, or if you have no employment income and survive solely off benefits etc. you'll probably need a guarantor.

Guarantors generally need to earn either 2.5 or 3 times the annual rent, depending on the referencing company.

Bascally, the rules tend to be that if you're in permanent employment or long-term temporary employment, earn at least 2.5 times the rent and have no CCJs, bankruptcy or an IVA, and have a positive previous landlord reference, you can expect to pass. If you fall short of any of these things, you'll probably need a guarantor. Specifics vary but that's a general answer.

If you're worried about it just give the agent a call. They can generally give you an idea of where things are sitting within a day or two of submitting the referencing application, and if they don't have an update yet they can at least tell you when they might be able to give you one.

(I work for Letsure by the way - we're a referencing company.)

From what you've said, I doubt you'll be declined altogether, but you might find you need a guarantor. That's pretty standard and I would say good practice for landlords/agents anyway, so is nothing to worry about unless you can't find one! If that's the case, you may find paying rent in advance will allow you to side-step the employment/income reference, but again that's down to the landlord/agent.

Hope that helps!

Rob

alizee

I've literally just finished reading your post ready to ring them when i got a phonecall from my husband saying they have contacted him and we have both passed our references and he will get the agreement posted to us asap!!

wahey

robcauson

Happy days =]

[Deleted User]

Thanks for the information above about how referencing works. Unfortunately, we will probably fail as my OH has moved to a new area, and only just started work there (had problems finding work where I live).., I am on IS right now but hope to find work once I join him.

In view of this, we were expecting to need a guarantaur.

Now is it worth paying £120 each for referencing we are pretty sure we will fail anyway, is it possible to just pay for the referencing on our guarantaur (altho he owns a property, doesn't rent). I don't really want to pay £360 on referencing lol.

robcauson

deannatrois wrote: »

Thanks for the information above about how referencing works. Unfortunately, we will probably fail as my OH has moved to a new area, and only just started work there (had problems finding work where I live).., I am on IS right now but hope to find work once I join him.

In view of this, we were expecting to need a guarantaur.

Now is it worth paying £120 each for referencing we are pretty sure we will fail anyway, is it possible to just pay for the referencing on our guarantaur (altho he owns a property, doesn't rent). I don't really want to pay £360 on referencing lol.

That's down to the agent really, but you'll probably find they'll want to carry out the checks on you as well as the guarantor. Duty of care and all that. That's just an assumption though, you may find if you speak to them they might be willing to do it, but it's their choice.

Rob

tbs624

robcauson wrote: »

(I work for xxxxx by the way - we're a referencing company.)

Rob - thanks for the useful info for the OP - however, you seem to be taking the opportunity in several of your posts to flag up your company name and purpose. You may like to read through the Forum Rules, in particular the bit on company reps. and advertising

robcauson

tbs624 wrote: »

Rob - thanks for the useful info for the OP - however, you seem to be taking the opportunity in several of your posts to flag up your company name and purpose. You may like to read through the Forum Rules, in particular the bit on company reps. and advertising

Hi,

It honestly wasn't my intention at all to advertise. I just thought by mentioning who I work for it might show that I'm basing my information on working knowledge. I just didn't want anyone thinking I was making stuff up! I'll take care not to mention the specific company I work for in the future.

Cheers
Rob