Tenancy Advice

Posted by: @enigma35

Hello, I am a newbie... I joined GA 2 weeks ago and I have signed up to GamStop - I am in the process of locating a new rental property - not due to any financial reasons all my bills were paid - however, I have found a flat and the rental company have asked me for 3 months bank statements. This has really made me anxious as they will see all my deposits before I started getting help...I am afraid that they will take one look at them and say "No thanks".... any advice ?? Peter 

Hi Enigma35,

This is a tricky one as no-one here will know the rental companies terms and conditions etc.

Hopefully, they will see that you were able to afford all of your bills and take that into consideration.

Perhaps someone on this forum has been through something similar and could help?

Would citizens advice be able to provide some guidance perhaps?

Good luck and keep us updated.

Are you able to provide statements but redact the recipient details? They only need to see the balances and see that you're able to reliably pay rent. If the balances swing wildly with deposits/withdrawals then the company may frown upon this but you have no other choice I guess than to let them see. 

Hi Enigma,

I'm retired now but worked in estate agency & property management for several years. When letting a property we also asked for 3 months bank statements or pay slips. Individual transactions weren't something we were looking for, simply to see a salary was being paid into the bank from the company the prospective tenant claimed to be working for.

This was simply for an affordability test. Different companies have different criterias, the last company I worked for used the monthly rent X 36, that is to say if a property was £500 per month it was unlikely we would let that property to anyone earning less than £18000 per annum. If it was a joint tenancy we'd accept a joint income of that figure.

We did however in every case use a credit agency to do a full credit check on all applicants. It there was a record of defaults or a CCJ shown, it wouldn't necessary mean we wouldn't rent to that person, but would insist on a guarantor.

I Hope This Helps

AL