How to rent using cash, without a stable income

d2001

Hi

I need to move home to be closer to family... and will need to rent a house. I have recently lost my job so we'll live on my wife's income until I find a new job. It seems to rent I need to prove to the letting agent we have sufficient income. The house I'm planning to rent is about £1500 a month, and the letting agent needs us to have an income of £45K a year to prove we can afford it. But my wife's income is less than 45K. However, I have the 6 months rent in cash, and I am sure I will be able to find another job within 6 months.... Is there a way we rent without having this minimum income currently?

Regards
TSM

attila_

Offer to pay them 6 months rent in one lump if you are sure you won't move? Alternatively (and i'm sure you have considered this) look ar downsizing to a cheaper rental.

[Deleted User]

You will find this very difficult through an agency. After a tenancy is granted eviction is very time consuming, at a minimum it can take 3 months to evict someone and in some cases it can take over 6 months: if they grant a tenancy to you and then in 6 months you can't afford to continue to pay they are going to lose a lot of money on evicting you and from lost rent. For this reason most legitimate agents will shy away from renting to you, especially in an area that £1500 rents are the norm (I assume the south) because taking such a risk isn't worth it when there are lots of people in stable employment looking for places to rent.

There are some smaller agents that will be willing to do a deal with you however you're probably going to need to focus instead of private landlords that aren't dealing with an agency but then you're putting yourself in a position where you'll be renting the properties that nobody else wants to rent. You might find what you're looking for, but it's going to be far less likely.

As attila_ says you would be crazy to try and rent a £1500/month property with less than £2500/m take home, including the cost of utilities, council tax, food and day to day living it will clean you out. Even if you need to move to London there are properties available for a lot less, you'll have to take a hit on your quality of life but at least it'll prevent you from ending up in a financial crisis... then once you're back in employment you can return to living in a nice property.

BigAunty

d2001 wrote: »

However, I have the 6 months rent in cash, and I am sure I will be able to find another job within 6 months.... Is there a way we rent without having this minimum income currently?

The income/rent formulas is a risk based analysis. There are two parts to risk - likelihood and impact.

You may indeed be right that the risk may not be realised and you secure better income within 6 months.

However, the impact of having a low income with high rent could be substantial.

Agents and landlords might not depart from their established practices based on your optimism and gut feelings about future employment.

Can you offer a guarantor? Someone who will have to pay the rent if you default? That's a risk management strategy used by some agents/landlords.

benjus

Some landlords may be wary of upfront cash payments for several months' worth of rent as this is a common approach used by people who intend to do something dodgy with the property (cannabis farm, brothel, etc)

d2001

Hi All,
thanks for your replies. I can't get a smaller house as we are are family of 4, (2 parents. 2 kids). I can provide a guarantor.... I guess I'll have to call a few agents and see what happens...

rexmedorum

Do you have any relatives (or others) with enough income who can act as guarantors? Agents might accept with a guarantor.

d2001

I'd have to ask a relative but it's a pain... I own my house, could I use that as a guarantee??