Our referencing partner ‘Rightmove landlord & tenant services’ complete referencing checks on our behalf assessing three main areas – Affordability, Rental History and Credit History.
For each tenant:
– Acceptable landlord reference
– Clean credit history
– Minimum annual income of 30 times the monthly rent share (e.g. rent share of £500pcm requires a minimum income of £15,000pa)
If under the minimum annual income, there are three possible alternatives subject to the landlords agreement:
1) Personal guarantor
2) Housing Hand guarantor
– Housing Hand may agree to act as your guarantor. You will need to make an application directly with them and ensure you meet all their requirements. Visit Housing Hand
3) Rent in advance
– Your rent share paid in advance for the full term of the tenancy.
For each personal guarantor:
– Clean credit history
– Minimum annual income of 36 times the monthly rent share (e.g. rent share of £500pcm requires a minimum income of £18,000pa)
If you have rented in the past three years, we’ll need to take a landlord reference to verify that rent payments were made in full and on time, that the property was maintained to an acceptable standard and that your landlord or letting agent will recommend you, considering you to be honest and trustworthy. These checks are not required for guarantors.
If employed this needs to be on a permanent ongoing contract or fixed term that exceeds the end date of the proposed tenancy, if self-employed (for a minimum of 3 months), income can be verified through personal bank statement and an accountants reference (if applicable). State or private pensions can be accepted, verified via pension P60, award letter or bank statements. Savings can also be considered if present in a sole account for a minimum period.
We run credit checks on tenants and guarantors (where applicable) to confirm there is no adverse credit history such as County Court Judgements, Bankruptcy Orders or Debt Repayment Schemes.
Please try our affordability calculator below, simply enter each persons rent share and see the annual income requirements.
We are required by law to verify and retain copies of original documents that prove you have the right to rent in the United Kingdom and a proof of your current address. The most commonly used document are listed below however full and complete guidance can be found on the UK Government website. This must be completed before any proposed tenancy starts.
– Passport (current or expired)
OR TWO of the following documents
– Birth Certificate
– Letter from a government department or local authority
– Photocard driving licence
One of the following:
– British Residence Permit
– Share code to perform a digital check
One of the following:
– Utility bill / bank statement / mortgage statement (dated within the last 3 months)
– Council tax bill / tax assessment / certificate of voter registration (dated within the last 12 months)
– Photocard driving licence (cannot be used if is being provided as a Right to Rent document)
For tenancies signed on or after the 1st June 2019, in addition to paying the rent, you may be required to make the following payments – known as ‘permitted payments’.
In order to reserve a property you will usually be required to pay a holding deposit, this can be a maximum of one weeks rent. This payment will be refunded (or offset against the first rent payment due) or withheld if any relevant person, which includes any guarantor, provides false or misleading information during the process which can reasonably be considered when deciding to let the property, fails a right to rent check, withdraws from the process or fails to take all reasonable steps to enter into the tenancy agreement by the ‘deadline for agreement’.
This payment is security for the performance of the tenants obligations as outlined in the tenancy agreement, this can be a maximum of five weeks rent (or six weeks rent if the annual rent is £50,000 or more).
Where the rent has been outstanding for 14 days or more from the date due as set out in the tenancy agreement a charge of 3% above the Bank of England base rate can be applied to each day the payment is outstanding.
Tenants are liable for the reasonably incurred costs for the replacement of lost keys or other security devices.
Where a change to a tenancy is agreed a charge of £50 (inclusive of VAT) (or any reasonably incurred cost if higher) can be applied.
Should an early termination of a tenancy be agreed, tenants are liable for all rent due under the tenancy until the start date of a replacement tenancy and for the landlords costs in re-letting the property.
Tenants are responsible for the payment of gas, electricity, water, communications (telephone and broadband), installation of and subscription to cable / satellite suppliers, television licence and Council Tax, unless specifically included in the rent.
Any other permitted payments, not included above, under the relevant legislation including contractual damages.
Independent Redress Scheme: We are members of the Property Redress Scheme (PRS)
Client Money Protection: We are members of Client Money Protect (CMP)
We are also members of the Deposit Protection Service (DPS) and the Landlords Guild, and registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). We hold public liability insurance and professional indemnity insurance with Simply Business. Our referencing partner is Rightmove Landlord and Tenant Services.
