Renting as a pensioner

cad2021

Does anyone have any advice on trying to rent a flat (in the UK) when on a limited pension income? I'm finding that letting agents are demanding an annual income of at least 30 times the monthly rental fee (which means most places are outside my range), and any savings you may have are not taken into account. It seems illogical to me that a pension income accompanied by substantial savings are not taken as sufficient proof of ability of pay, when these are clearly more secure and reliable than an income from employment (which can always end suddenly). I've been told that offering to pay six months' rent in advance may get one to the front of the queue for a rental flat. Any thoughts? Thank you.

NinjaTune

I've had to pay 6 months upfront in the past when my income wasn't sufficient to meet the requirements.

Having a large pot of savings behind you doesn't automatically mean you won't default on the rent.  Bad tenants come in many guises!

luvchocolate

Try local housing associations...much cheaper rent .
Mine is half the price of private 

IamWood

Please try to seek someone who you can rely on to act as a guarantor. I did this for my in-laws when they would like to move close to us for the first couple of years before they settled down at a smaller flat.

tealady

luvchocolate said:

Try local housing associations...much cheaper rent .
Mine is half the price of private 

There are housing associations that are just for the *ahem* older renter.
As usual Google is your friend.

theartfullodger

Having even half a brain is not required to be a lettings agent.  Nor in England any qualifications, no training, no criminal records check.  You could be dealing with anybody 

Logic and lettings agents?  Expecting that may lead to disappointment and sadness.

My best ever tenants had no UK history nor savings.  But a neighbour said "Mr Artful they very nice people" - and they were.

Good luck!

Artful: 73.

Keswick1uk

I had to provide a letting companies guarantor reference today.

One question ......

What's their average annual income/drawings for the last twelve months.

One box. So annual income is this per accounts, taxable or drawings? And what on earth is an annual average for the last twelve months? Surely thats just the last twelve months!

And that's just that question! Who writes these things?

Murphybear

tealady said:

luvchocolate said:

Try local housing associations...much cheaper rent .
Mine is half the price of private 

There are housing associations that are just for the *ahem* older renter.
As usual Google is your friend.

We live in one of these.  Life has never been better.  Our community has 33 flats and one house.  We got the latter which is a decent size.  There were no agency fees (this was before they were banned), no deposit and no references and housing benefit is encouraged if needed.

we have an on-site manager, when anything goes wrong it is fixed very quickly (our record was 2,5 hours for a plumber ).  We signed an AST for 1 year then an AT for life if we wish. Rent and maintenance fee rises are very modest as the HA is a registered charity, current ones are less than previous year.

We have an active social life and have lots of events in our 100ft communal lounge.  Sadly we’ve had to cancel our barbecue twice because of the weather.  

The reason I mention all this is because I know some people think that living in this type of over 60s living isn’t very different from being in a care home.  It’s light years apart.