Are we ever going to find anywhere to rent?

[MrsFionaCharming]

DP and & I are hoping to move to a new city in a few months. He's been offered a place on a University course starting in Spetember, and I've sorted a part time job there (currently no children, took part time as the role will really help me career wise).

Unfortunately we're having trouble finding a landlord willing to accept us in these circumstances, even though we could in theory pay the whole years rent from savings, plus provide a guarantor, as they want one of the tennants to be in full time employment.

Has anyone had any luck in finding somewhere to live in circumstances like this?

as a landlord - the trick is to sell yourselves as good tenants by thinking what the landlord would be worried about and assuaging those worries.

assuming you don't smoke and don't have pets, the big one is 'can you pay the rent?'. If you can't then it takes months to get you out and costs a lot.

so...you can pay the whole year's rent from savings, that's good - you can sign up for a year's tenancy on that basis. Current mortgage/insurance rules generally preclude any longer than that. Are you making the point that you have the money?

(BTW make sure the money will be ring-fenced and secure with the agent, as it will be drip-fed to the landlord once a month).

also - is it clear that he is a mature student and you have both run a home before? Student letting is a specialised business for obvious reasons, so you need to make it clear that this is an adult studying, not a beer-swilling mummy's boy.

Sounds like you are failing the standard referencing company credit check because of your low income. However that should not matter. Unless the landlord is specifically saying "no students" (and as a landlord I am wary of the additional wear and tear caused by people in the house all day, plus the fact that students often lie and move an extra people into the living room etc) there should not be a problem. Your DH is a post-grad, you are a couple and you plan to work part time. Most landlords should like you.

Standard rental terms for students in London, where there are a lot of international students with no UK guarantors, are:

1. two months deposit

1. Six months rent up front, and then the second full tranche payable after six months.

1. It is also common to have a 12 month lease, though if you only want 10 and you will not be in a very studenty area, it should be able to negotiate.

It is also common to get six months rent up front if someone is self-employed.

So look the agent in the eye, and say that you only want to see flats where the landlord will accept those terms. Landlords can have quite an uneven cash flow so it can be useful to have rent in advance. Explain that your low joint income might cause problems with a standard referencing service but that rent in advance protects the landlord.

That's really helpful, thank you both.

I guess it would be worth going into an agency so they can see that I'm not a partying 19 year old? I've probably not been forceful enough in explaining our situation and finances.

One thing DP said was that as long as we sign the tenancy before September, he'll still be in full time employment, and he just won't tell them that his circumstances are changing. I'm not sure if this is actually legal, it certainly doesn't seem honest!

It would be dishonest if you were not planning to pay the rent or would not be able to. Otherwise the landlord gets what he wants, which is the money.

please don't start playing silly buggers like that. Fraud stuffs up the landlord's insurance and that WILL come back to bite you. And you could also whistle for future rentals.

happy to have the landlord lie to you? No, didn't think so.

there's no need for fraud. Tell it like it is, explaining you are not the typical student and are perfectly capable of paying the rent as noted.

I've done similar, but with no guarantors - I found I ended up with a private landlord, and offered to pay an extremely large deposit. Landlords prefer big deposits to rent up front. I offered 6 months rent as deposit, landlord was swayed but said 3 months was fair.