To think this letting agent is taking the piss?

[BonnibelBubblegum]

If I am bu then can any letting agents shed light on the rent to income ratio?

I have applied for a rented house. It has cost me £160 just to apply and the estate agent really pressured me into applying asap as she said there was loads of other people interested (even though the house has been on Rightmove 60 days) so I panicked and applied. She knows I am a single mum only working part time and that £160 is an awful lot of money for me.

I have lived at the same property for 5 years and my rent is currently £450 pcm and I have never missed a payment or even been late so was given a cracking reference from my current letting agents. All my references and credit check came back perfect.

A few hours later the letting agent emails me to say I don't earn enough and need a guarantor which will cost me another £60 just to get them referenced. She told me before I applied that tax credits and my wage would be enough to pass the checks. In total with tax credits and my wage I get £1360 per month not including £82.80 child benefit, £150 child maintenance and £200 housing benefit which can't be taken into account. So even without them I earn more than most people working full time. The rent is £400 pcm so my income is 3 times the rent amount.

My dad works and owns his own house and has said he will be my guarantor but his basic wage without shift work is actually less than what I get at £1250. Shift work he earns about £1800 per month but I know they will only take his basic wage into account. I don't think he will pass the references either.

I have nightmare neighbours and I have to get out otherwise I am going to end up killing myself as I can't cope with the anxiety. I have just lost my mum and have been diagnosed with Chronic Pancreatitis so I am having a shit time lately as it is. I have already given notice on my house and I don't really want to end up having to live back with my dad whilst I look for a house that will actually accept me. I also don't want to go with a private landlord or end up in a council house or HA house.

Aibu to think she is just taking the piss out of me to get the application fees and is going to decline me anyway? Surely she would have known I won't pass as she will deal with this a lot and will know the income to rent ratio so would have known I won't pass? I am so down and anxious which is making my pancreas flare up so am in agony to boot!

Letting agents are sharks 😡 whole industry needs regulated with proper rights for tentants, we once had one looking for a £250 "pet fee" to accept our elderly cat, not extra deposit (,fair enough) but an application fee for her

I had to pay £200 when applying for my flat. In Glasgow it's held in a sort of safe deposit scheme meaning the landlord or letting agent can't hold on to it, I don't know if anywhere else has that? If you are accepted the fees come off your deposit/first months rent. But if they reject you, you should get your fees back. It's if you pull out that they would keep it. I'd be looking into what you can do if they try to keep your fees! It does seem unnessecary for you to get a guarantor, my OH earns about the same as you and our rent is £560 and we didn't need a guarantor. But I guess everywhere is different.

FWIW, although this is London, my friends rent is £950 pcm and she had to put a deposit of £6K down and have her parents act as guarantors.

It's a renters market, if you cant afford it, someone else can unfortunately.

You could take your complaint to their overseeing body
www.arla.co.uk/

Honestly I doubt she is doing it to get the fees. Unless she owns the agency there is no incentive for her to do that. She's just an employee, what does she care if they make an extra 60 quid.. She will simply be following the rules. I'd also assume she just got it wrong before.

Sometimes the simplest explanation is the right one and not everything is malicious.

The fees are on top of the £900 (deposit and first months rent up front) I will pay if I get accepted. I have saved up so I can afford it but I can't afford to have to keep paying application fees if I will just keep getting denied

I can afford the rent though. I have paid more for five years.

I had none of this with my current letting agents. They have no houses in my budget or area. I think I am just going to have to find a private landlord and move in with my dad in the meantime.

Are you sure they’re taking your tax credits into account? A lot of landlords and agents don’t like to take on tenants with benefits. Or it could be that they want a guarantor because you have benefits, but she doesn’t want to admit that to you.

Yes she probably knew you weren't going to pass but said yes to make you apply therefore paying the non refundable 250 and now 60 for guarantor. My exP is an estate agent and I used to work in one but in finance. They have no morals, they just see you as money. Although a new law has been passed where they can't charge you fees like this anymore. My exP recently went on a course though to help how else to recover these fees. So they will probably find another way.

glow1984 I asked before I applied and she said I would not be classed as DSS and would be fine to apply as I claim tax credits

In Scotland the only thing letting agents can ask you for is a deposit. They have no legal right to ask you to pay for a credit check, reference check, inventories or any other bullshit 'admin'.
I can't remember exactly when this came into force but I wrote to my letting agent at the time to inform that they must have mistakenly forgot that they can't charge me for their admin work and I got a cheque returning my money that I'd originally paid
In November 2016 the government accounced that it planned to ban fees for tenants just like Scotland but it's not in force yet.

Most private landlords still do credit checks, so I'd be weary of one that didn't. That would be the kind you read about here who is clueless about law and waltzes into a rented property with no notice, fails to do essential repairs, etc.

An independent, qualified third party charges between £ 25-50 for a credit check, by the way. And estate agents use a third party too.

I think you should ask her how much you should be earning to pay the rent then, cos it usually is that your annual income should be 30x the rent. so on 400, it should be 12,000, and it sounds like you’re well within that.

In Scotland the only thing letting agents can ask you for is a deposit. They have no legal right to ask you to pay for a credit check, reference check, inventories or any other bullshit 'admin'.

I want to move to Scotland!

glow1984 thank you. It states on their website 30× the annual rent which is why I was confused as to why they are saying it isn't enough and hence why I think she might be taking the piss. I will phone or call in and ask today just to clarify why I don't earn enough

snash12 me too

Some letting agents can be sharks and our rental market needs decent reforms to make it more of a lifestyle choice than the desperate need to buy atm

Yes it's only £60 but her commission and bonus will be based on what she brings in - lots of extra £60 add up nicely

No advice op but I wish you luck. Have you seen the credit report that says you failed?