Renting - How does it work with my circumstances

RTC

Hello ladies and gents,

I have a question in regards to renting and how the process *should* work with my circumstances which I shall go in to momentarily, I realise there are a lot of fantastic websites and links that explain this sort of stuff but I wanted it breaking down in to more basic terms without the lingo attached as I suffer from Aspergers Syndrome so it can be a bit tough me taking information in and understanding it unless it's simplified and after reading posts on here by many wonderful contributors then I thought this would be the place to come and ask.

I am currently going to view a place on Friday (£425 PCM) in my desired destination of living that accepts housing benefit as long as said person has a gurantor which I shall do with my mother. I currently receive PIP and ESA so should get the highest level of housing benefit in that area which I believe is £360 so shall be able to afford the property should I deem that I want to live there along with the deposit and fees.The place is tenanted currently and that is who will be showing us around I believe as they said they were going to arrange a viewing with the current tenant, is this normal practice?

My question is if I like the property and want to go ahead with it then how will things proceed. I currently don't have a bank account with my benefits paid into my mother's account but will be getting one myself with my benefits transferred to the said account and of course because of that I have no credit rating.so I'd be interested to know what I will have to do should I wish to rent the property, the forms that me and my mother will have to fill and so on...

I believe I won't be able to start claiming housing benefit until I am in the actual property, is this correct or would I be able to begin a claim once I have signed an agreement to rent the property.

Any help is richly appreciated, thank you

silvercar

If you don't have much of a credit rating but you have a guarantor, the agent will credit check your guarantor. They will want to make sure that someone is good for the rent.

You claim Housing Benefit once you are in the property. I understand it is paid in arrears and rent is paid in advance, so you will need some money to cover this.

I would open your own bank account now in preparation.

tacpot12

The place is tenanted currently and that is who will be showing us around I believe as they said they were going to arrange a viewing with the current tenant, is this normal practice?

In my experience, it would be quite unusual to have the current tenant show you around, but if they are willing to do this, it suggests that they have a good relationship with the letting agent and/or the landlord, which bodes well.

When viewing, you should ask about the other bills that might arise with the property and make a written note of the answers so you can budget for these. The existing tenants are best placed to give you the answers.

Typical costs would include:
- Council tax
- Electricity/Gas/Water
- Broadband/Internet
- Window Cleaning

nikongirl

Regarding the viewing, when they said they would arrange a viewing with the current tenant they may have just meant that they need to call the current tenant and make sure it's a convenient time to have someone from the estate agents show you round. It might be worth asking the estate agent to confirm who will be showing you round.

00ec25

is the letting agent aware of your financial circumstances?

just because they appear to be arranging a viewing does not mean the landlord will accept you as a tenant.

Do the agent and/or Landlord know you will need to claim benefits in order to rent the property?

G_M

* Open a bank account
* View property. If tenants are there, ask questions
* if you like the property, ask the agent what moneyy they need, and whether it is refundable (eg if the landlord turns you down)
* make sure the agent fully understands your financial position
* give the agent (probably):
a) holding fee (so they don't show other tenants round)
b) your guarantor details
c) other financial details they ask for
d) fee for credit checking you and your guarantor
e) possibly other fees?
f) get receipts for the money you pay, showing what the money is for, and whether it is refundable

* wait for credit checks to complete
* if successful:
g) sign tenancy agreement & get guarantor to sign guarantor agreement
h) pay security deposit (in case you damage the property/don't pay rent). This may = 1 or 2 months rent.
i) pay 1st months rent
* get keys and move in
* contact gas, electric council tax etc

RTC

00ec25 - Yes I made the LA aware of circumstances and the reason that this flat appealed to me was the fact it’s housing benefit considered with a guarantor which I made them aware I had.

Thank you everybody for your helpful posts. I’ve tried to open a bank account in the past but the lack of identification was a stumbling block as I don’t have any utility bills and such had no proof of identification so I was hopeful that once I was in said property that I’d then have utility bills and so could go from there.

It sounds from G_M’s post a lot more simple than I imagined which is a relief.

NineDeuce

How would you expect to receive housing benefit without a bank account?

You cant claim it until you are liable to pay for rent.

RTC

NineDeuce - A good point well made, this is clearly something I need to be looking in to right away. As I’ve said it’s lack of identification in the past that’s held me back so i need to figure this out.

thmaga

With regards to ID, it worth checking with the bank first to find out what they will accept.

I know that some banks can be very inflexible, so don't be afraid to try another if you need to, best to speak to a customer service advisor in branch if you can.

A friend of mine was able to use his poll card as proof of his identity, but they generally need to be less than three months old, so you're out of luck there unless you've another election coming up locally.

Given you claim benefits, you should have DWP letters in your name currently, these may be accepted as proof of address, again you may need a recent one, but you can call up and request a letter stating your entitlement I believe.

Likewise you can call and ask HMRC to send a letter confirming your tax code, this will be official and contain your name and address.

Presumably you have a birth certificate handy also.

RTC

Hello everybody,

I thought I would give you guys and girls an update on how today went if you don't mind.

We got to the property not really sure who was showing us around and knocked on the door which the tenant answered and ended up showing myself and my mother around. The property was nice but the tenant was clearly not very good at maintaining the place as you couldn't really see the floor for clothes, pots and cat toys in any room but after a deep clean it should be good.

Once we had looked around and exited the property, we phoned the agent who told us that the tenant was handling viewings which was odd as when the tenant answered she seemed to have not a single clue what was going on and she asked where the agent was on our arrival. The agent seemed to indicate on the phone that we were not the first to look at the property but given the tenant had no idea what was going on and the place was severely cluttered then I'm guessing no landlord or estate agent has seen it for a while and the pictures on the online advert appeared to be rehashed from a previous letting so it's a high possibility that we are the only ones currently to view it.

The EA has sent me over a tenancy application and a guarantor application by email which I presume is normal protocol so feel free to tell me if any different and so hopefully my mother and I shall fill these out this weekend and get them back to the EA's.

Thanks once more for your help