Renting as self employed

FrankR

Hello
I am a self employed person who wants to rent a studio or 1 bed flat. 
I have never rented before and must learn how it works.
My budget: £200-250 per week.
Questions:
- Is it possible to rent as a self-employed person? I assume it varies from property to property, but would most landlords and estate agents accept self-employed renters at this budget?
- If I stop being self-employed, is it possible to cover the rent with benefits until I find a job? In other words, is the weekly rent of £250 max per week too much for benefits to cover?


Thank you.

anselld

It is not a question of budget, it is a question of affordability.  If the Landlord uses a referencing agency they will seek proof of income of at least 30x monthly rent.  eg ...

   £200 per week = £867 pcm so income of £26k per annum.

For self employed they will normally look for two years proof of income via HMRC sa302 forms from self assessment.

If you find a private Landlord directly they may have other criteria but they probably wont be much different to this.

Murphybear

We rented as self employed once.  They asked for a reference from our accountant to confirm we could afford the rent.

In theory you can get benefits to cover the rent but they will often be less than the full amount and how much you get depends on where you live.  What you need to do is look up the LHA (local housing allowance) for the council in the area you live in.  This will give you a rough idea of how much help you could get if you stop being self employed 

elsien

When you're checking the housing allowance you also need to consider whether you are entitled to the one bed rate, or the shared house rate, depending on if you are under or over 35 (presuming no disabilities).
And check availability. There is nothing in my town on rightmove  which would be within the allowance for a single person, unless I want to live in a garage.