Depending on the credit referencing company they will typically request some if not all of the following types of documents from each Guest:

1. Photo Identification (Usually Passport)
2. Proof of Income (Bank Statement or Salary Slips)
3. Access to your Banking records if you have Open Banking
4. Reference letter from your Employer or University
5. Reference letter from a previous Landlord or Letting Agent
6. Proof of previous or current address (e.g. Utility bill)

The affordability criteria used by most credit reference agencies is the total household income should exceed 2.5 times the rent. So if the rent is £1,000 per month then total household income should exceed £2,500. If there are 2 people renting the flat (household) and they both earn more than £1,250 then they will pass the affordability criteria. Proof of income should usually be in the form of the last 3 months salary slips.

If your provable combined household income is not 2.5X more than the rent you may still be able to rent the property under the following conditions:

1. The rent is paid in advance for the amount of the tenancy contractual period. e.g. if the total cost of renting for 12 months is £12,000 you can pay the full £12,000 upfront

2. You have a UK Based guarantor who will guarantee rent payment if the tenants do not pay the rent. The UK guarantor will need to provide exactly the same documents as a normal Guest and pass referencing checks then sign a separate Letter of Guarantee

You should provide the contact details of your manager or department that the referencing company should contact in order to obtain your employment or university reference form. The referencing company will then contact them accordingly to confirm you are in employment or enrolled into the university or college as a student.

If you have rented a property in the UK before, you can provide us with the contact details of your previous landlord or the letting agency that you rented the property from. The referencing company will then contact them to confirm that you stayed at that property previously and ask for a reference. This will ask if there were any damages at the property, if it was kept in good condition and if rent payments were made on time. If you have one and have a good rental history you should provide this previous reference, as it will help your application for the new property. If you do not have a previous rental history then you can still apply to rent the property and this will be taken into account with your overall application.

It usually takes between 5-10 working days as the referencing company will need need to contact your references for responses and this may get delayed. You can expedite the process by asking your references to submit replies as soon as they are able to. The tenancy can not proceed until all Guests at the property have completed their reference checks and application. So it is a good idea to start this as soon as possible and get answers and documents in as quickly as possible in order to avoid any delays.

It depends on the reason for a referencing failing as sometimes this can just be administrative errors that can easily be fixed or just providing more answers or clarification of any questions raised by the referencing company. However, if there are issues that we were not made aware off in advance that you did not declare, like a County Court Judgement, a criminal record or a poor credit history, then this could adversely affect your application and referencing. It is best to provide full disclosure from the start if you are aware of anything that may affect your credit rating, to avoid disappointment and potential risk of losing your holding deposit if you fail referencing. If you are at all un-sure you should contact our Guest Services team to discuss your application before hand.