Unemployed- problems with renting with agencies?

ozma83

Hello!
So I need help again... I share a flat with my boyfriend, but we'll have to move out in little more than a month. Now, we're talking to letting agencies to find another flat for us, but I am worrying that they might have problems with me not working...

My boyfriend works full time and will pay the rent (I am looking for a job and will pay him back as soon as I find one), but will the letting agencies have a problem with me not working?

Please help...

ruggedtoast

ozma83 wrote: »

Hello!
So I need help again... I share a flat with my boyfriend, but we'll have to move out in little more than a month. Now, we're talking to letting agencies to find another flat for us, but I am worrying that they might have problems with me not working...

My boyfriend works full time and will pay the rent (I am looking for a job and will pay him back as soon as I find one), but will the letting agencies have a problem with me not working?

Please help...

Not really no. He will need to earn enough to pass the affordability criteria. They will undoubtedly run the homelet check on both of you to sting you for two referencing fees.

What do you think families where one partner doesnt work do when they rent?

may_fair

So long as your BF has the necessary income (i.e. enough to pay all the rent without any contribution from you), and passes credit/reference checks, then it shouldn't be a problem.

I'm a LL and I look for people who are genuine and whose stories add up/check out, because you have to be really cautious. If I got an offer from a prospective T saying he wanted his unemployed GF to live there too, that'd be totally fine but I might want to credit check GF as well, to see whether she showed up as having CCJs (because that'd indicate a risk, just in terms of a couple's general attitude to financial responsibility).

ozma83

thank you. Yeah the referencing fees thing really annoys me, especially as being unemployed I am really trying to save as much money as I can and don't really fancy giving it to them for no reason. My boyfriend will basically rent it for himself until I am able to pay for my part.
Thanks everyone

HappyMJ

ozma83 wrote: »

thank you. Yeah the referencing fees thing really annoys me, especially as being unemployed I am really trying to save as much money as I can and don't really fancy giving it to them for no reason. My boyfriend will basically rent it for himself until I am able to pay for my part.
Thanks everyone

I'd just let him apply as a single person and then you move in the day after he's got the tenancy as his girlfriend. They can't stop you doing that.

What would happen if you refused to sign the tenancy? You can still stay there at his invitation and you wouldn't be liable for the rent.

ozma83

we've found a flat and they're now saying that either my boyfriend or both of us should earn at least 3 times our rent, and that if we don't we should get a guarantor who does or pay 6 months upfront

My boyfriend's brother and his wife have agreed to be our guarantors, but I'm so worried the landlord is not gonna accept us? What do you think?

BitterAndTwisted

If they've told you that they need you to have a guarantor and you've found one why would they not accept you? Mind you, if the agents have any sense they will be doing credit-checks on your guarantors as well. Do your b/f's brother and his wife understand the huge responsibility they will be taking on? Being a guarantor is definitely not something to be taken lightly.

HappyMJ

ozma83 wrote: »

we've found a flat and they're now saying that either my boyfriend or both of us should earn at least 3 times our rent, and that if we don't we should get a guarantor who does or pay 6 months upfront

My boyfriend's brother and his wife have agreed to be our guarantors, but I'm so worried the landlord is not gonna accept us? What do you think?

Personally I would go with the 6 months up front rather than the guarantor. If your BF were to lose his job the guarantor must pay the rent for him. Will this cause family issues? I wouldn't want anyone to fall out over this and offering 6 months rent will not involve his brother being a guarantor. Now the issue of 6 months rent.... Borrow it. Assuming he already has the deposit and 1 month of rent including the referencing fees saved up and ready to pay you need to find 5 more months of rent. If that were my area that would be £2,000. (£400 a month for a 1 bed flat) Not very much in the grand scheme of things and no rent bills for the next 6 months. Save up as much as possible to repay the £2,000 and save for the next 6 months of rent due. If you got a credit card with a high interest rate paying it off in 3 months then it will only cost £30 for the first month £20 for the second and £10 for the third month in interest. For £60 that's how I would do it. It's cheaper than referencing fees on the guarantors. You need to be determined to save though as you need to save a lot of money for the next rent payment.

ozma83

Renting in London, 6 months upfront would total around 7500, which is money we don't have and I personally wouldn't know who to borrow from.

My boyfriend's brother and his wife are happy to be our guarantor, also my boyfriend has been with the same company for more than 10 years and never had any problems. Sure anything could happen but we feel pretty safe regarding his work situation right now and he's not planning on asking his brother any money either - he can easily pay the rent himself.
Also I am planning on working too, it's been a bit rought for me to find a job lately but that's because I was looking for a good one.

Right now it's just a case of hoping the landlord will accept us because I don't think that we can go any other route apart from the guarantor one. We don't have many more options I'm afraid.