Do all (most) landlords require you to earn 3x the rent?

BrettMorganxD

If you look at my previous thread of do landlords accept 6 months in advance you will see why I am asking.

My last landlord didn't care, nor did she even asked what I earned as long as she got her rent every week on time. I can't work out a percentage but I earned £432 pcm (£500 on good months) got £160 RTWC and £44 a fortnight HB. Rent was £380

Now I heard most landlords require 3 times the rent, is this true? Would ANY landlord now days rent a £450 pcm a month house to me if I earned £840-£1,000 after tax.

sueturnersmith

You're just 19 years old. Why on earth do you need to rent a house costing half your net income?

Stay at home with your father while you resit your GCSE's and do your access course and nursing degree, and then think about getting your own house.

If you did rent a place costing £450 a month you would have very little money left to pay for electric, gas, water etc, plus food, cleaning stuff, clothing and fares to get to work. It just doesn't add up!

Do yourself a favour and don't rush into getting your own place - you are very young!

BrettMorganxD

sueturnersmith wrote: »

You're just 19 years old. Why on earth do you need to rent a house costing half your net income?

Stay at home with your father while you resit your GCSE's and do your access course and nursing degree, and then think about getting your own house.

If you did rent a place costing £450 a month you would have very little money left to pay for electric, gas, water etc, plus food, cleaning stuff, clothing and fares to get to work. It just doesn't add up!

Do yourself a favour and don't rush into getting your own place - you are very young!

Worked out fine before, when rent was well over half my net income. Getting a job round here is reasnobly difficult. So I will need to move out when my employment moves. My employment moves a few months before my access starts.

Now back to my original question, will a landlord take you on if you earn less than 3 x rent

BrettMorganxD

sueturnersmith wrote: »

You're just 19 years old. Why on earth do you need to rent a house costing half your net income?

Stay at home with your father while you resit your GCSE's and do your access course and nursing degree, and then think about getting your own house.

If you did rent a place costing £450 a month you would have very little money left to pay for electric, gas, water etc, plus food, cleaning stuff, clothing and fares to get to work. It just doesn't add up!

Do yourself a favour and don't rush into getting your own place - you are very young!

that leaves ALOT for bills sue...... it leaves £390 to pay bills with

The_Palmist

Land Lord don't need to know how much your earn.

The_Palmist

They can however refuse to let to you for whatever reason. Your last LL didn't bothered, the next one might.

DirtyDick

It's the balance of probabilities and how competitive the rental market is. LLs are taking a risk by allowing tenants into their properties.

If they let to someone who spends more than around 1/3 of their gross wage on rental, it's far more likely they'll have difficulty in meeting the rent, the council tax and the utilities during their tenure, the non payment of which can cause all manner of headaches for LLs and LAs and cost them a lot of money to sort out.

Some will do it, but only if you have a guarantor who earns sufficient to cover these costs.

sueturnersmith

My son, aged 21, recently moved in to a shared house with a group of friends. The landlord's agent did ask for proof of income, which needed to be at least three times the rent.

One girl did not earn enough, but was able to join the group because her father acted as a guarantor.

My son earns almost twice as much as Brett, even though he is still a trainee, and his share of the rent is £280 a month. He can manage on this, and pay all his bills, travelling costs, food and entertainment, but does not have much left over!

If Brett goes ahead with his proposal I think he will really struggle, and not be able to have any kind of social life.

jjlandlord

The_Palmist wrote: »

Land Lord don't need to know how much your earn.

Right... Landlords should take prospective tenants' words that they can afford the rent.

There should be a negative equivalent of the "Thanks" button.

19lottie82

BrettMorganxD wrote: »

that leaves ALOT for bills sue...... it leaves £390 to pay bills with

This is NOT a lot...... Really! How much do you anticipate for council tax, gas, electric, insurance, phone, tv, Internet? Before u have even touched food, clothing and having a social life?

Benji

As a rule of thumb, I'd say 3x was good, but 2½x would be fine if there was some security. IMHO sueturnersmith makes some good points - heck, you want a life don't you? Money so you can have a good time on a Friday night? Money to treat your partner right? Money to save so you can afford a deposit on a decent place? Mind you, if you're 19, you'll also want your independence. I'd say look on spareroom.com for a flatshare - half the cost of a flat, someone to borrow milk off and no sitting alone in the flat bored rigid on a Sunday afternoon.