Rent with no income but large savings - Renters rights laws ?

BlisteringBarnacles

I have posted on Reddit but I thought I would try my luck here too. I dont wish to link to the reddit posts as I am not sure its allowed. 

Not working since last couple years. With net worth a healthy multiple of yearly expenses (including rent), you could say FIRE-d. Don't wish to drawdown my SIPP tho yet just to "show income".

I have rented for decades - same place, same landlord, same letting agent. Landlord is allright. If there is a negative trait, it is that he is frugal and won’t fix things unless unusable / broken. But my place is at lower end of housing so I can’t complain I suppose.

Now the landlord wants to renovate my current place (when I take a long holiday early next year) and sell it so I need to leave. He doesn't know I'm not working. He has been kind enough to allow me to stay until Dec 2026.-  I was stressed out about this renovation design last week but now I just want to allow him to pursue his dreams of renovating and selling. Its his place after all. I dont want to be a pain in the back.

With the new renters rights laws, will it be impossible Without "Income" to get a place to rent after Dec 2026 ? And is only payslip / pension considered as "income" ? Not dividend / interest ? About half my investments are in tax sheltered in Accumulation units, and in taxable I’m considering low coupon gilts so it is difficult to show income stream.

I have cash to buy a house but I’m not sure I have a 5 year commitment to UK. I have been saying that and stayed here decades tho.

Should I tell the landlord I'm not working ? Or will that immediately risk Section 21 ? I think being honest earns trust and respect and he may let out another flat if I want to be in UK post Dec 2026. So maybe I should tell him I’ve taken early retirement and if he’s worried about rent, I can pay 12 months rent upfront if its legal.

Seeing a few scary threads on reddit about needing guarantor etc. I have plenty of funds in GIA, ISA. Even if my stock index fund crashes 50%, whats left is still enough to pay rent for many many years. I doubt letting agent understands index funds tho. 

Thanks. 

_Penny_Dreadful

BlisteringBarnacles said:

I have posted on Reddit but I thought I would try my luck here too. I dont wish to link to the reddit posts as I am not sure its allowed. 

Not working since last couple years. With net worth a healthy multiple of yearly expenses (including rent), you could say FIRE-d. Don't wish to drawdown my SIPP tho yet just to "show income".

I have rented for decades - same place, same landlord, same letting agent. Landlord is allright. If there is a negative trait, it is that he is frugal and won’t fix things unless unusable / broken. But my place is at lower end of housing so I can’t complain I suppose.

Now the landlord wants to renovate my current place (when I take a long holiday early next year) and sell it so I need to leave. He doesn't know I'm not working. He has been kind enough to allow me to stay until Dec 2026.-  I was stressed out about this renovation design last week but now I just want to allow him to pursue his dreams of renovating and selling. Its his place after all. I dont want to be a pain in the back.

With the new renters rights laws, will it be impossible Without "Income" to get a place to rent after Dec 2026 ? And is only payslip / pension considered as "income" ? Not dividend / interest ? About half my investments are in tax sheltered in Accumulation units, and in taxable I’m considering low coupon gilts so it is difficult to show income stream.

I have cash to buy a house but I’m not sure I have a 5 year commitment to UK. I have been saying that and stayed here decades tho.

Should I tell the landlord I'm not working ? Or will that immediately risk Section 21 ? I think being honest earns trust and respect and he may let out another flat if I want to be in UK post Dec 2026. So maybe I should tell him I’ve taken early retirement and if he’s worried about rent, I can pay 12 months rent upfront if its legal.

Seeing a few scary threads on reddit about needing guarantor etc. I have plenty of funds in GIA, ISA. Even if my stock index fund crashes 50%, whats left is still enough to pay rent for many many years. I doubt letting agent understands index funds tho. 

Thanks. 

I'm not entirely sure where the Renters Rights Act 2025 comes into this. Does it mean some landlords might be more cautious when selecting tenants, quite possibly?

There are no hard and fast rules for what counts as income and will depend from landlord to landlord.  I suspect the main issue will be where there's a letting agent involved and "computer says no" to anyone not in PAYE employment with a payslip.  

Tell which landlord you're not working?  Your current landlord, no point and it's not necessary.  A new landlord, it will become obvious during referencing assuming the landlord does do referencing.

Section62

_Penny_Dreadful said:

BlisteringBarnacles said:

I'm not entirely sure where the Renters Rights Act 2025 comes into this. Does it mean some landlords might be more cautious when selecting tenants, quite possibly?

...

Previously someone who (like the OP) would fail the affordability checks for renting a new place could offer up-front payment of rent, for example paying a whole year in advance.  The Renters Rights Act will prohibit that practice to the extent that a maximum of 1 month's rent can be asked for (and offered).

Someone cash rich but income poor will either need to get lucky with an agent/landlord who accepts independent means as being enough, or else find a guarantor.

silvercar

My concern would be the renovation takes longer than expected and you return from holiday to a building site. 

On your question of whether a landlord will care if an existing tenant, whose always paid the rent on time, is working or relying on passive income, I doubt they would care.

_Penny_Dreadful

Section62 said:

_Penny_Dreadful said:

BlisteringBarnacles said:

I'm not entirely sure where the Renters Rights Act 2025 comes into this. Does it mean some landlords might be more cautious when selecting tenants, quite possibly?

...

Previously someone who (like the OP) would fail the affordability checks for renting a new place could offer up-front payment of rent, for example paying a whole year in advance.  The Renters Rights Act will prohibit that practice to the extent that a maximum of 1 month's rent can be asked for (and offered).

Someone cash rich but income poor will either need to get lucky with an agent/landlord who accepts independent means as being enough, or else find a guarantor.

There is a way around it but it's risky for the landlord.

https://theindependentlandlord.com/rent-in-advance/

silvercar

Section62 said:

_Penny_Dreadful said:

BlisteringBarnacles said:

I'm not entirely sure where the Renters Rights Act 2025 comes into this. Does it mean some landlords might be more cautious when selecting tenants, quite possibly?

...

Previously someone who (like the OP) would fail the affordability checks for renting a new place could offer up-front payment of rent, for example paying a whole year in advance.  The Renters Rights Act will prohibit that practice to the extent that a maximum of 1 month's rent can be asked for (and offered).

Someone cash rich but income poor will either need to get lucky with an agent/landlord who accepts independent means as being enough, or else find a guarantor.

I suspect something will have to change, so that those renting on a passive income will be accommodated. Otherwise there will be a whole section of renters, who would generally be older, more responsible and well able to afford their rent, out of the market. Their rental demands include high end properties and I can’t see them being frozen out of the market.

Section62

silvercar said:

Section62 said:

_Penny_Dreadful said:

BlisteringBarnacles said:

I'm not entirely sure where the Renters Rights Act 2025 comes into this. Does it mean some landlords might be more cautious when selecting tenants, quite possibly?

...

Previously someone who (like the OP) would fail the affordability checks for renting a new place could offer up-front payment of rent, for example paying a whole year in advance.  The Renters Rights Act will prohibit that practice to the extent that a maximum of 1 month's rent can be asked for (and offered).

Someone cash rich but income poor will either need to get lucky with an agent/landlord who accepts independent means as being enough, or else find a guarantor.

I suspect something will have to change, so that those renting on a passive income will be accommodated. Otherwise there will be a whole section of renters, who would generally be older, more responsible and well able to afford their rent, out of the market. Their rental demands include high end properties and I can’t see them being frozen out of the market.

*and arguably more likely to vote.

I suspect the high end of the market won't be too much of a problem because the owners and their agents are perhaps more likely to understand wealth themselves and therefore appreciate that somone with substantial assets isn't relying on a paycheque or benefit payment in order to pay their rent.

Albermarle

I have cash to buy a house but I’m not sure I have a 5 year commitment to UK. I have been saying that and stayed here decades tho

Have you considered buying the property you are now living in?

Mr.Generous

As a landlord the problem isn't with me, its the insurance. landlord Insurance requires tenants to be professionally checked and pass the checks for the insurance to be valid, otherwise its prohibitively expensie. You can get approval by paying in advance - buit that will be illegal under RRA. So yes, I think you will struggle unless the landlord knows you and takes a risk with insurance or charges you extra to cover the inflated premium. I have a tenant at the moment who paid a year in advance, under new laws he wouldn't get the property I'm afraid. 

BlisteringBarnacles

Thanks for all the replies, much appreciated. While the intention behind the new laws is to offer some security to tenants, it looks like landlords will need to be extremely careful to choose their tenants and consequently will become very risk averse. I guess they can still evict a tenant who does not pay rent for several months or damages the property but it will be more work for the landlord. Plus the insurance point mentioned by Mr.Generous 

A professional salaried tenant seems least risky if a landlord wants to just play it safe and call it a day. Or, I could get myself a 10 year gilt ladder :-) - After all there can be nothing more guaranteed than UK government bond - One could lose their job but UK govt wont default on its debt :-) but I doubt the letting agents will understand gilts - even if they do, their software will not. 

High end properties are probably in a different league so no comparison. The top 0.1% have their own rules   

Regarding buying the place I am in, yes, the landlord has suggested that as an option. When it comes to buying, no, I wouldn't want to buy this flat - even tho I have lived here for ages. - as contradictory as that sounds. On a related note, I do like flats actually, but if I buy I will probably go for one that is better quality than mine. But flats seem to drop in value like food past its expiry date, so I will need to be prepared to write off a good chunk of the value in future. That would still be allright if I were to live here in UK for a very long time which I am not sure of. Houses with a garden do seem to hold their value and I can afford one in cash, but a family home seems a bit depressing to live in as a single loner. 

Maybe things will turn out ok. After 2026, my landlord may just agree to renting me a different place. My hunch is he will trust me. Or I can go for the guarantor option, I wonder what it entails tho'. Or I could try to get a job. I haven't worked for couple of years now, but worked in enterprise IT for 25+ years. But with the job market being what it is, and my age (57, the age when employers are reluctant to hire apparently) , who knows ? Altho I havent taken any certification courses (cloud, AI etc) but I still remember what I used to do. I was a hands on techie. At least I will have almost a whole year to decide. If I cant get a job in one full year then its probably time to hang my hat anyway - I mean I will know I am unemployable and will have no regrets at "missing out on UK career opportunities", so I can consider Cyprus, Greece etc and enjoy low tax to no tax on my dividends / cap gains, where the weather is nicer and renting is not as difficult as getting a Nobel prize I have no family in UK. Was married to my job then got divorced LOL  

I dont do anything without hard deadlines so in a way this is a blessing in disguise. Maybe I should approach letting agents and ask them if they will rent to people like me.

BlisteringBarnacles

_Penny_Dreadful said:

There is a way around it but it's risky for the landlord.

https://theindependentlandlord.com/rent-in-advance/

Thanks for this. 

From the article : The rent in advance rules will come into effect for new tenancies on 1 May 2026. (Existing tenancies are excluded from the rules by the new Section 4B(2)(a) in the Housing Act 1988, inserted by Section 8 Renters’ Rights Act).

Since the letting agent ( on behalf of landlord ) was able to offer me another place to rent immediately so the landlord can carry out the renovation in my place - is it worth taking up that offer - assuming its still available - the idea being to start that tenancy Before 1 May 2026, but then I should tell the landlord NOW that I am not working and happy to pay rent in advance. At least the rent in advance is legal to offer and receive Before May 2026. We could even put it in the lease so that landlord will always be in a credit of at least 3 months, if not he can evict me. So that way he just cant lose. 

But then if I reveal my hand, they may well give a Section 21 now as its legal to do so now. "Its not personal Sonny, strictly business".