01
Proof of identity (ID)
To prove you are who you say you are and you have the right to live in England.
In England, your agent or Landlord is legally required to view and photocopy a valid form of photographic ID, such as a British passport or national identity card or a letter of attestation and driver license with a birth certificate.
- If you are a non-British citizen, you may be able to provide a share code to prove your immigration status, for your Landlord to undergo the check online.
- You can find more information about this check on the government website.
02
Proof of income or employment
To prove your funds can cover the rent.
You'll normally need to provide three months worth of your most recent payslips or proof from your employer of your current salary, which should be usually 2.5 times the yearly rent.
If you're self-employed, a tax return or a reference from your accountant will do instead. You should inform employer or accountant in advance that they'll be contacted. If you have savings, you need to provide three months worth of bank statements as proof.
Did you know that with some providers, you can opt in to open banking to speed up the reference process? This means you won't have to provide proof of income documents – you'll simply connect with open banking, so the provider can see a snapshot of your income and rent payments as quickly and securely as possible.
03
Previous landlord's reference
To comment on your previous tenancy.
Let them know in advance that they'll be contacted, to get a faster response.
04
Permission for a credit check
To do a 'soft check' of your credit history.
You'll simply need to give your written permission for your agent/landlord or their provider to get an overview of your credit history, using publicly available data.
This is a soft check so don't worry – your credit score won't be affected. You can even run your own check in advance, to make sure there'll be no issues.
05
Guarantor
Someone who agrees to pay the rent or any damages if you can't.
Your guarantor will have to go through a similar referencing process and credit check, as they can't have any adverse credit. You should bear someone in mind and let them know as soon as possible if they're needed.
They'll traditionally need a salary of 2.5 times the rent to pass referencing and be living in the UK.
06
Payments
To secure the property and pay the security deposit.
Paying a holding deposit secures the property and you can choose for it to go towards your security deposit (max of 5 weeks rent, or 6 weeks if the rental exceeds £50,000 per annum), which will be held in a secure deposit protection scheme.
You may also need to pay at least a months rent in advance, so you'll always be paying rent for the month ahead.