What you’ll need if you’d like to rent a property

If you’ve started off by registering your details with us so we can help you to find your perfect home, you’ll be ahead of the game once you see a property that you like. If, on the other hand, you are not registered with us, but have seen a property that you’d like to view, we’ll start by getting you registered.

In either case, once you’re interested in a specific property, we’ll take you through a few questions just to check that you meet basic criteria for renting that property. We’ll also make sure we have sufficient information about you and your requirement to be able to assure the Landlord that the property meets your needs and vice versa!

Providing the Landlord is happy for us to proceed, we will then take you through our referencing process. Once this is complete, we will take a deposit from you and agree your moving in date with you.  Your deposit is placed by us into a government-licensed deposit protection scheme. The name of the scheme is shown on your tenancy agreement, and fuller details of are included in the ‘Prescribed Information’ we will provide to you once your tenancy begins.

 The documents you’ll need to share with us 

As part of our referencing process, we will ask you to provide us with: 

Photo ID – a valid passport or driving licence

• Proof of your current address – a utility bill, bank or similar statement dated within the last 3 months
• Proof of income – payslips for three consecutive months within the last four, or confirmation of income you have received
• Written reference – a letter from your current landlord or their managing agent (if you are currently renting elsewhere) vouching for your compliance with the terms of your last tenancy

 Providing a Guarantor

In some cases, our referencing process may indicate that a guarantor should be required if the rental is to go ahead. A guarantor is an individual (usually a relative or friend) who accepts responsibility for paying all or part of the rent, or for covering the cost of repairs, should you prove unable to do so.  We reference the person you nominate as guarantor in precisely the same way as you yourself are checked.

We will ask you to provide a Guarantor if…

• Your salary is not an sufficient multiple of the annual rent;
• You are receiving Housing Benefit;
• Your work is temporary or you are on a zero-hour employment contract;
• Your credit file shows you have a CCJ, IVA or Bankruptcy (Active or Satisfied).

 A Guarantor should…

• be an individual (as opposed to a couple or a company);
• not live at the rental property during the tenancy;
• have income of at least three times the annual rent;
• be able to provide a tax return or accountant’s reference if they are self-employed;
• be a UK resident;
• ideally be a homeowner.

At the Landlord’s discretion, if you were deemed to need a guarantor but do not have one, payment of the first six months’ rent in advance may be acceptable as an alternative. In every case, the Landlord of a property has absolute say over whom they let to. A Landlord is not required to offer any explanation as to why they have declined a particular rental applicant.