ID and Right to Rent
All potential tenants or guarantors must provide a valid ID matching the name on their application. If the name doesn’t match up, proof of name change must also be supplied.
Applicants renting in the UK must also satisfy Right to Rent requirements - immigration checks to determine if the applicant has the legal right to live in the UK.
Credit checks
Credit checks performed by Equifax to search through credit repayment history for any current or past adverse credit, and establish if an applicant or guarantor actually lives at the addresses they said they did in the past 3-6 years.
Applicants must have no adverse credit, or if they do, it must be less than £1000 and it must be satisfied. If applicants have any adverse credit, it is important they declare it beforehand on their application. Failure to declare any current or past adverse credit (active or satisfied) can lead to a failure in applicants’ references.
Income and employment
Proof of employment and income with a reference from your employer. Applicants who are about to change jobs provide the contact details of their future employer(s).
Income needs to be verified to see if applicants can realistically afford the property. The industry standard affordability ratio required is 2.5 for tenants and 3.0 for guarantors. This means that in order to meet affordability, applicants will need to demonstrate that their income is 2.5 x the annual rent (3 x the annual rent for guarantors).
Residential status
Confirming residential history of where applicants or guarantors currently live, where they lived in the past three years and their behavior as a tenant.
If applicants are not currently renting or cannot provide their landlord’s contact details, further investigation will be required.