What you will need to rent in the UK?

In the UK, letting agents or landlords will usually ask you to provide some of the following when considering your tenancy application: 

• Character reference (e.g. from previous landlords) and/or employment references

• Guarantor reference

  • A guarantor is usually an employed family member of the tenant who lives in the UK, owns a property and/or can prove they have sufficient earnings. The guarantor will have to pay the rent or any damage if the tenant fails to pay it. 

• Bank statements or employment proof

• Proof of identity

• Proof of your right to rent in the UK (England only)

  • Prove your right to rent in England: online check

  • Prove your right to rent in England: document check (only if you cannot use online check)

  • If you are seeking asylum, you will not have the right to rent in England and landlords cannot accept you as a tenant. 

  • Ukrainian arrivals have the right to rent, as long as they have permission from the Home Office to stay in the UK. Ukrainians on the Family or Homes for Ukraine scheme should submit their biometrics and apply to extend their stay within 6 months of arriving in the UK.  

• Advance payment (1 or 2 months’ rent payment in advance)

• Tenancy deposit (usually 4 or 5 weeks’ rent)

  • There may be limits as to how much money the landlord can ask for concerning an advance payment and a tenancy deposit. Visit your local Citizens Advice (England and Wales | Scotland) or  Housing Rights for Ireland to make sure that you are not paying too much.

  • If you look after the property, you should get your deposit back when you move out. If there is damage to the property the repair costs may be taken from your deposit.

These references / documents are to make sure that you will be able to pay the monthly rent and you will take good care of the rented property. 

How much money can a landlord or letting agent charge?

The only payments that landlords or letting agents can charge tenants for are:  

• Rent: but there is no control over how much rent a landlord can charge;  

• Deposits: 

  • A refundable deposit of no more than five weeks rent in England;

    • In Scotland: a refundable deposit of no more than 2 months’ rent;

    • In Northern Ireland: in general, a refundable deposit of 1 month’s rent. (But there is no legal limit on the amount of money a private landlord can ask for as a deposit. 

    • This deposit will be kept in a Tenancy Deposit Scheme, a third party organisation which will keep the deposit safe for you. You will get back your deposit through the Scheme after the property is assessed to be in good condition when you move out.

  • A refundable holding deposit (to reserve the property) of no more than one weeks rent;  

• Exceptional payments: 

  • Up to £50 if the tenant and landlord agreed to a change in the terms of the tenancy, like adding a new tenant or allowing a pet;

  • A charge for late rent payment or lost keys, if this is included in the tenancy agreement;

  • Payment if the tenant ends the tenancy early before the tenancy period you have agreed; 

  • Payments for gas, electricity, TV licence, phone, Wi-Fi and Council Tax (if these are paid for by the landlord);  

• Other than the payments listed above, the landlord or letting agent cannot charge you other fees (like agent fees, administration fees, or other charges). 

• If you suspect that a payment is unlawful, ask your landlord or letting agent to provide a receipt with explanation on what work your payment is covering. With this evidence you can get advice from your local Citizens Advice / Housing Rights on whether the payment is unlawful, and on how to recover your money.

Those who recently moved to the UK won’t always have the necessary character and employment references, family members who can serve as guarantors, or a credit record. In this case, you can offer to pay rent in advance instead. The usual practice for private landlords is to ask for one month’s rent in advance, but it is not unheard of for migrants to pay 6-months’ (or more in England) in advance to secure a tenancy. 

• In England, there is no legal limit to how much in advance rent a landlord can ask for.

• In Scotland, the maximum amount of rent which a landlord can ask for in advance is 6 months’ rent.

• If you are asked to pay rent in advance, make sure you also ask for a receipt from the landlord or the letting agent. 

• If you need help with the advance rent payment and you are receiving Universal Credit for 6 months or more, you can ask for a budgeting advance to help you with advance rent payment. 

If a landlord or letting agent wants to charge you for anything else, or if you are having difficulties paying rent, you should contact your local council, your local Citizens Advice (England and Wales | Scotland) or Housing Rights (Northern Ireland).

THE CASE FOR BUYING

The main advantages to buying your own property are (a) a sense of stability and (b) property can double as an investment. In order to buy a property in the UK, you will need to show paperwork at the point of offer:

1. to prove you have the financial means to proceed; 

2. to prove the source of your funds, especially if you do not have saving records in the UK before your move. It means bank statements, or documents confirming the source of the funds, like the sales of a house or shares; or

3. to get a mortgage.

Securing a mortgage

If you need a mortgage, you will have to plan ahead. First, you will need to build up a credit record in the UK, by 

• setting up and using a UK bank account; or 

• setting up and using a UK credit card, and making regular payments through it. 

It can take months or even years to build up a credit record that will be accepted by banks, building societies, or financial advisers. If you borrow money, and don’t pay it back on time, this will negatively impact your credit score.

With a good credit score, you can talk to banks, building societies or financial advisers to secure a mortgage. Expect the process for securing a mortgage to take several months. You can consider getting a mortgage Agreement in Principle (AiP) from your lender before starting the property search, as an estate agent or vendor may ask you for the AiP before letting you view the property. 

The hidden costs

In the UK, there is quite a list of hidden costs that one should budget for when planning to buy a house / a flat, like: 

1. Stamp duty

2. Deposit

3. Valuation fee

4. Surveyor's fee

5. Legal fees 

6. Estate agent's fees

7. Mortgage valuation, arrangement, and broker fees

8. Mortgage Advisor fee

9. Removal costs

And, apart from the bills and expenses listed above, there might also be: 

1. Ground rent 

2. Service charges

3. Maintenance and building works

4. Other running costs

Go to MoneyHelper to calculate how much your overall buying and moving costs might be. 

If you need more housing advices, you can have a look at the services offered by the following government departments and/or civic organisations:

England & Wales

Scotland

Northern Ireland