Can I include rent paid by employer in my total salary?

jsn18

Hello

My employer pays for my rent and this is deducted from my overall salary. When applying for things like a mortgage or a credit card, am I allowed to include the amount of rent that my employer pays in the figure I put for my salary, or must I only put the amount that it says on my payslip? 

I have searched the internet but not yet found an answer to this question.

Thanks very much for your help.

Nebulous2

That is an unusual setup, and finance providers don't always cope well with the unusual.

I'd say it depends on the question asked. If it asks for your gross pay, then your top line on your pay slip would be the figure to give. If however it asks for your net pay then it wants your take home, and that excludes your rent. 

Remember lenders may ask to see payslips.

MalMonroe

jsn18 said:

Hello

My employer pays for my rent and this is deducted from my overall salary. When applying for things like a mortgage or a credit card, am I allowed to include the amount of rent that my employer pays in the figure I put for my salary, or must I only put the amount that it says on my payslip? 

I have searched the internet but not yet found an answer to this question.

Thanks very much for your help.

I think the best thing to do would be to ask the lender before you apply. Especially for a mortgage. In fact, when applying for a mortgage it may be a good idea to consult a mortgage broker in the first instance.

You could also ask your employer to provide you with copies of the records of the rent they pay for your home, in case you might need them when you do apply for credit. 

I don't know for a fact but I would assume that rent is like having a company car - a perk of your job and in some cases allowed to be considered as part of your salary. Obviously that does need checking. 

My motto - if in doubt, ask. Because it's much better to ask than to assume. 

Hope all goes well for you. 

Brie

Sounds a bit like salary sacrifice in that what you get in your bank is less than what your contract suggests you will be paid.  Mortgage companies generally want to know what your contract says and companies should be able to supply a letter to that effect.

Grumpy_chap

jsn18 said:

Hello

My employer pays for my rent and this is deducted from my overall salary. When applying for things like a mortgage or a credit card, am I allowed to include the amount of rent that my employer pays in the figure I put for my salary, or must I only put the amount that it says on my payslip? 

I have searched the internet but not yet found an answer to this question.

Thanks very much for your help.

This is not a common arrangement, so more detail is required to allow an assessment to be considered.  The ultimate assessment is that of the lender and, because it is an unusual situation, a Broker may be of benefit.  The sort of questions I would expect a Lender to want to have covered include:

• Why does the employer pay the rent?
• Is this for temporary accommodation (away from home working)?
• Is this for tied accommodation?
• If you move out from the rented accommodation paid by the employer, will the amount of rent be added back into salary?
• If you have subsidised rent, why do you want to buy a property on a mortgage?

elasto

I don't know about for mortgage applications, but with every credit application I've made recently, as well as asking for gross/net income they ask me what my portion of rent is.

So it seems to me that if you give your genuine salary plus say you pay nothing for rent, their affordability calculations will be correct for your situation.