Affordability Criteria When Renting A Property

Affordability Criteria When Renting A Property

October, 2018

Affordability Criteria When Renting A Property

If you are interested in one of our rental properties, please ensure you will pass the affordability criteria.

Your income/joint income needs to be enough to cover the rent.

Our referencing provider will multiply the yearly rent by 2.5 to work out what your minimum income/joint income (before tax and National Insurance deductions) should be.

For example:

Rent £300 per month you will need income/joint income of £9,000 per year

Rent £400 per month you will need income/joint income of £12,000 per year

Rent £500 per month you will need income/joint income of £15,000 per year

Rent £600 per month you will need income/joint income of £18,000 per year

Rent £700 per month you will need income/joint income of £21,000 per year

Credit Check

A credit check will be carried out on every person over 18 years moving into the property. This will be mainly for checking if you have any bad debts.

If you have had a County Court Judgement/bad debt or bankruptcy in the last six years, please be sure to declare it before you pay your holding deposit, as this could cause you to fail the referencing process. 

Guarantor

If you cannot pass the referencing criteria, you may be asked to provide a guarantor (if this is acceptable to the Landlord). For example:

On a zero hour or part time employment contract

Claiming housing benefit/universal credit (You will need a guarantor regardless of income)

Bad debt on credit record

No address in the U.K. for the past 6 years

Self-employed or a Director and cannot provide suitable accounts or an accountant’s reference

Guarantor Requirements

U.K. homeowner with an income of three times the yearly rent (gross income), or savings in an account amounting to three times the yearly rental income

A working guarantor with an income of three and a half times the yearly rent (gross income)

The guarantor will be fully referenced as if they are a prospective contract holder.

The guarantor will be signing an agreement that commits them to the terms of the occupation contract. This would commit them to cover all the obligations stated in the occupation contract, such as paying rent arrears and any damage caused to the property.

The guarantor is liable for all contract holders in the property (joint and severally liable).