How to get UK flat without UK bank account? & flat-renting issues

My (English) husband is going to London later this month to find a flat for us to move into in September. The problem is, it's been so long since he's lived in the UK that he no longer has a bank account there (and I certainly don't).

I have read up on HSBC's "Passport" account, which we can open from the US, but it doesn't allow us to have cheques (why?? ). How are we supposed to pay deposits/rent/etc? We can put money into the account - it's getting it out in a non-cash form that's the problem. Will he have to walk into an HSBC bank in London and get a banker's draft? If so that would be OK -- but how are we supposed to pay bills once we're in the UK? Surely not everything is set up for online payment - but this is another issue.

Is there a better alternative to the Passport account? People who have already been through this - how did you do it?

Also - what should he take? We have a reference letter from our current landlord. What else might a UK landlord want to see?

you don't pay rent using cheques...at least I've never needed to.  You usually pay directly into the landlord/letting agent's bank account via a standing order set up on your UK bank account. So you'll need some sort of UK bank account (whether a hsbc passport account or similar or a current account) but once you've got that you're good to go

In my three years here I've used about 5 checks.  4 of those were to pay my dues for hockey and cricket.  One other was to pay a person who didn't want to give me their banking details. People pay for almost EVERY bill online.  It's easy and nice!

Almost no one uses cheques in the UK.
Most people pay for things by direct debit from their bank account, and a lot of companies will give you a slight discount for paying this way.

I use cheques for rent, but nothing else. I rent privately, but I suppose if I went through a big agency I'd be able to do it online.

It's funny - the bank keeps sending me new cheques! I can't/don't use them fast enough to keep up with the supply! 

i did write a cheque for my deposit when i first moved here... one of the only ones i've ever done!  EVERYTHING is done online here in the UK.  i was back in the US the other week and thought my sister writing out her monthly bills.  stamps, checks, the whole lot!

We can't even find our chequebook.  No kidding.  We haven't seen it since February.  Haven't needed it, either. 

We pay our landlord by cheque, and my husband pays his part-time employee by cheque. And I've used cheques for various one-off things.

Because I'm out in the country, a lot of repairmen, plumbers, etc. are just local people who have their own businesses (rather than big companies), so a lot of them don't take credit cards. But I seriously still use so many fewer cheques than I did in the US!

But HOW do you get a flat in the UK without having a UK account and access to funds? We applied for the HSBC account online and it said the account can't be finalized until we move over and provide proof of our UK address.

So - all you US people who have moved over and rented flats in the UK - how did you do it? How did you pay the deposits etc? Traveller's cheques? Cash?

So - all you US people who have moved over and rented flats in the UK - how did you do it? How did you pay the deposits etc? Traveller's cheques? Cash?

i paid the first 6 months rent in advance, in cash.

We wired the money over.

Hubby got himself a bank account opened, (with LloydsTSB) during our two week house-hunting trip, before we moved over for good.

We had an appointment with the bank manager rather than trying to go through customer service in order to open his account. He had the foresight to bring with him some bank statements from our US account, a mortgage statement and also his passport and was able to get it sorted in less than an hour, (would have taken less time but the bank manager had to make a few phonecalls).

His bank card and chequebook were sent to our US address and when we moved to the UK it was simple to change the account address, (his branch didn't even require any proof of address change).

But HOW do you get a flat in the UK without having a UK account and access to funds? We applied for the HSBC account online and it said the account can't be finalized until we move over and provide proof of our UK address.

So - all you US people who have moved over and rented flats in the UK - how did you do it? How did you pay the deposits etc? Traveller's cheques? Cash?

We had access to funds in the US via our ATM card.  We withdrew cash for the deposit and first month's rent, just like Q-G.  It's not the norm, but cash is just as good as any cheque.  And we made sure to get a receipt obviously.