Potential tenant for a room of £650 pcm all inc earns £1300 net. Is this ok?

confused_landlord

I feel like he is over stretching and I'm worried about his ability to pay the rent. As it is, I have reduced the deposit from £800 to £650 following his request that I do so.

Would you proceed with the tenancy if you were the landlord?

He works in the city as a broker, and is on a working visa until the 2014. Not sure if the fact that he possibly does not have UK credit scoring matters or not.

agrinnall

I would say that in London many people are having to spend 50% of their net income on accommodation. Yes, it's a stretch, especially if the tenant then has to pay CT and bills on top, but it's the only way people can find somewhere to live.

But it's your property, if you are uneasy about it then say no and hope someone better comes along. From everything I read I would expect people to be beating your door down at that price, which suggests that the property is perhaps not particularly desireable.

Brallaqueen

Of all things to reduce, the deposit should not be one of them.

This is your fund to cover damage and loss of rent (if applicable) and the fact that your potential tenant has reduced it to exactly one month's rent makes me wary that they will not pay the last month and skedaddle, leaving you with no contingency for damages.

That, on top of the high rent to income ratio, would make me pause.

BitterAndTwisted

He can't be a broker on that sort of pay. Even an office temp would take home more than that a month.

Still, you've got to be some sort of eejit not to be able to live on £650 a month. Unless he's got debts up to his eyebrows

tbs624

agrinnall wrote: »

I would say that in London many people are having to spend 50% of their net income on accommodation. Yes, it's a stretch, especially if the tenant then has to pay CT and bills on top, but it's the only way people can find somewhere to live.

My bolding. OP's header says "£650 pcm all inc ", so presumably no other bills to cough up for ( except maybe the CT) which sounds v cheap for London

I agree with Brallaqueen about the deposit.

You could always sk him to pay upfront for an initial 6 months let if you have concerns about a lack of credit history/ability to pay

confused_landlord

agrinnall wrote: »

From everything I read I would expect people to be beating your door down at that price, which suggests that the property is perhaps not particularly desireable.

I don't think 650 for a room in a houseshare is particularly cheap. It's pretty average for the area actually.

I have other viewings lined up, but normally I don't ask evidence of earnings (just confirmation of full time and long term employment) and if his work reference had not detailed it, I would not even have known.

girl_withno_name

confused_landlord wrote: »

I have other viewings lined up, but normally I don't ask evidence of earnings (just confirmation of full time and long term employment) and if his work reference had not detailed it, I would not even have known.

Will you now be asking for evidence of earnings from future viewers / prospective tenants? If not then it seems unfair to penalise this individual for providing a work reference more detailed than necessary (and potentially out of his control, large firms may simply have a standard format for providing such references)

PoisonIvy

I've rented in London for 18 years, and for the vast majority of that time, half my take home pay went to rent and bills. I know plenty of people in my field (media) who take home about £1300 PCM. You can still be a professional and not earn pots of cash, especially in London.

FireWyrm

Seriously....£650 for a ROOM! Geeze....I rented a whole bloody house for that.

In any case, £1300 take home is ridiculous for London. He's not a 'trader' and I would be suspicious in the extreme of his 'status' in the UK. Look at it this way, he's free and clear to hop skip and jump right out of this country and there isn't a thing you can do about it. Also, I was under the impression that visa holders had to earn a minimum of something like £30K in order to keep their visa....just a thought.

confused_landlord

His reference said he was on post study leave to remain in the uk. I doubt people just starting out as traders earn big bucks.

I have a copy of his work permit. All seems to be in order. But of course, I am concerned about the situation should he hop out of the country without paying his rent as he would not have to worry about his credit rating.

camptownraces

confused_landlord wrote: »

His reference said he was on post study leave to remain in the uk. I doubt people just starting out as traders earn big bucks.

I have a copy of his work permit. All seems to be in order. But of course, I am concerned about the situation should he hop out of the country without paying his rent as he would not have to worry about his credit rating.

How far out of Central London are you? His oyster fares could easily be over £200 a month from zone 5.