Estate agent rental checks, how in-depth are they?

StrugglingStudent88

I have spoken to both my uni and my student loans company.

The uni have said that I need to have all my finances sorted (i.e. housing benefit, IS, CTC etc) before I can claim for any sort of bursaries or grants because you need to provide a full breakdown of your expenditure, but since I'm living at home at the moment when looking at my finances it doesn't appear that I need any help. I currently live at home but am sharing my 10 year old sisters room and have done since I had to move back from my rented university accommodation. Although my parents have been helpful there is no way I could continue to live here once the baby has been born as there simply isn't the space.

I have also spoken to the student loans company and they have said I am not entitled to any further funding this year as you have to have dependants and the start of the academic year, so even though I will be having the baby in March I will not receive any further help until next year. So I have to live off the same loan as other students who do not have any children for the time being.

I have seen quite a few houses that say they will accept DSS tenants with a guarantor however I honestly couldn't believe the state of them. One had a massive whole in the middle of the otherwise filthy living room carpet, and the agent told me "The LL isn't replacing any carpets or painting, but a large rug will cover that hole". I don't see why being in receipt of benefits means that houses are allowed to be filthy, but that seems to be the case with all that I have seen, and I certainly don't have the money to be painting walls and replacing carpets. How anyone with children could take these types of houses on baffles me, especially since the rent was only 20£ a month cheaper than the house I am wanting to rent at the moment.

BitterAndTwisted

Can I offer you a little unwanted advice? Just because you may be entitled to the LHA 2-bedroom rate (and you won't be, I suspect, until after your baby is born) I would suggest that you rent a one-bed for the time being. If you can find a tenancy you are likely to be offered only a six-month AST in the first instance. There is no reason why a baby cannot share its mother's bedroom for the beginning of its life. Some share their parents' rooms for a lot longer than that. This could mean that you may not have to fund your rent from your other income at all in the short-term.

Are there any mother-and-baby units in your LA? Speak to the council as they may be able to help you source somewhere. If they can't hep you directly the Housing Dept may have a list of landlords to get you started in your search

StrugglingStudent88

Thank you for your advice, I really do appreciate everyones replies.

I won't be entitled to anything until the baby is born anyway because I am a student, so I will need to cover the costs if I get a one or two bed for the time being. I cannot be housed by the council until I have had the baby for the same reason, and living with my parents is becoming unbearable since they only have a small 2 bedroom apartment themselves. I know I will have to pay the rent for the first two months as my baby is due March 3rd and I am hoping to rent some where from Feb 1st. I have managed to save up enough for 4 months as I was expecting this. I know the rent I would have to cover would be less if I rented a one bed for now, however I wouldn't receive any benefits and would leave me looking for somewhere else to live and trying to move home as a single mother sometime next year. I have thought about other options, and I would be put on the social housing list by my council, but not until the baby is born and once I am on there, it is a waiting list. I feel that covering the £10 a month extra to rent privately is something I will be able to manage and will in the long run work out to be much less hassle.

BitterAndTwisted

Even more unwanted advice:

StrugglingStudent88 wrote: »

I won't be entitled to anything until the baby is born anyway because I am a student, so I will need to cover the costs if I get a one or two bed for the time being.

I cannot be housed by the council until I have had the baby for the same reason, and living with my parents is becoming unbearable since they only have a small 2 bedroom apartment themselves.

It may be unbearable, I do understand that, having three grown adults living in the same household. Speak frankly to your parents and hang on there as long as humanly possible until it is absolutely necessary to leave.


I know I will have to pay the rent for the first two months as my baby is due March 3rd and I am hoping to rent some where from Feb 1st. I have managed to save up enough for 4 months as I was expecting this.

If you can hang on a little longer you may have the whole sic month's rent to offer a prospective landlord. This may open up possibilities that are closed to you at the moment.
I know the rent I would have to cover would be less if I rented a one bed for now, however I wouldn't receive any benefits and would leave me looking for somewhere else to live and trying to move home as a single mother sometime next year.

There are rarely any guarantees about living in a particular property long-term unless you are offered a 12 month AST adn that ain't long-term by any stretch of the imagination. Some people, even singletons, can find themselves having to look for somewhere every six or twelve months.

I have thought about other options, and I would be put on the social housing list by my council, but not until the baby is born and once I am on there, it is a waiting list. I feel that covering the £10 a month extra to rent privately is something I will be able to manage and will in the long run work out to be much less hassle.

I really do hope that you are right. I cannot imagine how stressful it must be to need to find a home when in the last stages of pregnancy, never mind not having a full-time job with an entitlement to mat leave.

I wish you all the luck in the world, I honestly do.

asharon

I was in a similar position. If you cannot afford it then they normally ask for a portion of the rent upfront. How much is part of the negotiation. Sometimes it is 6 months.

StrugglingStudent88

Thanks for all the advice.

I really don't know what to do, I really want to rent the house I've found, it's in the perfect area, nice condition and I can afford it with the LHA, I'm just really worried about the checks. I went to see a few with other letting agents that wanted bank statements and wage slips so that would have been perfect. I don't understand this Let Alliance way of doing it because realistically you could put any name down on the form, my dad owns his own business so I could put him down on there, if they don't want to see my wage slips how on earth will they know that I work there?!

Do you think I could just show them wage slips and bank statements and see if that is enough?!

BitterAndTwisted

Don't be worried about the checks: all they indicate is the past, not the future. Lots of people could have very favourable indications on their credit-files, references etcetera and they could on the very day they sign a new tenancy agreement redundancy, relationship breakdown or any number of person disasters could befall them. The checks are to ensure that you have honoured your financial responsibilities in the past. They are used as an indication of how you could do so in the future.

I don't know anything about this Let Alliance business personally but I suspect they're a landlords' checking facility or similar. If they just want pieces of paper filled in just fill them in. But you must ensure that you have this conversation about what happens to your fees if you are rejected. I have a feeling that they may not be refundable.

Perhaps another strategy might be to contact the landlord direct finding their address via the Land Registry site? If they're signed up to this alliance-thingy that might be the only route to acquiring this particular property.

What would I do? Consider talking to a different agent, perhaps one with several branches in the area and talking to them about what properties and landlord's information is shared between them so your net could be spread wider for the same referencing fee.

Have you spoken to any of the other expectant mums at your prenatal classes and wotsits? Perhaps there's an opportunity there to find out info about properties or even joining forces with another single about-to-be-mum. I'm trying to think outside that hackneyed box for you but I may be so wide of the mark on this one. It's easy to focus on one particular solution once we've alighted on it but you might need to look at other possibilities rather than just focusing on getting your hands on this one perfect property