What do I need to bring with me for renting a place?

We're off to Bath Saturday to find a place to live (to rent). What type of documentation would they require of me to rent a place/sign on with a Letting agency? I want to make sure I have everything before I leave the US. My husband is a UK citizen and he's the one that's been hired to work over there. Should I bring pay stubs for my current job in the US, even though I don't have one lined up yet in the UK?

perhaps a letter from a current landlord or your deed if you own and names and numbers of contacts in the UK who could serve as references. a letter from his new employer.

good luck house hunting!

Bank statements from your US bank?  I had those which helped me since I had NO money already over here.  I had my letter of employment from my UK employer (the reason we moved here) to show what my salary would be so your husband should bring that.  Your paystubs probably wouldn't help too much as they want to see how you can pay the rent now, not your ability to get a new job I think.  If your husband's salary is sufficient his info should be fine (my husband didn't show anything).

And if you are new to UK, yu have to pay 6 months in advance.

And if you are new to UK, yu have to pay 6 months in advance.

That is complete and utter rubbish.  You may be asked for a guarantor or for a larger deposit but you will not have to pay 6 months in advance.  I didn't and I didn't have a bank account when I got my flat.

Try to ask Rental agency in your area like Coutrywide, Haart.  how are they going to check you credit history
and you have been living in UK for 1 week or 1 month without an address. Basically, without credit history you can not rent a place from Agency.
kal

Yeah that is definitely not true - I rented through an agency and they took copies of my bank statement, got a reference from my uncle in the UK, took a letter from my employer, but I had no problem renting even though I didn't have any credit history.  And I didn't have to pay a larger deposit or have any guarantor.

And if you are new to UK, yu have to pay 6 months in advance.

That's not true.
I did pay 6 months in advance, but that was by my own choice... the landlord did not ask me to do this (however, he was very pleased when i offered it!  )

try to call some agencies , all of them  will run a credit report now
Renting directly from the landlord  is different matter.
kal

Dude.. you're not listening.  I DID RENT THROUGH AN AGENCY.  I was not required to pay 6 months up front.  I DID have to have my father act as my guarantor because at the time, I was a full time student and had no income. 

What ended up happening with us in April is we were able to rent through an agency but we needed my husband's parents as guarantors because neither us had lived there in the past 1-3 years. Also, it took them a month to do a very thorough reference check. We did not have to pay 6 months in advance, but had to sign up for automatic direct debit into their account.

i rented through an agency.  i didn't have a bank account.  i did have a reference letter from my employer showing my salary and the terms of my employment (ie i was allowed to stay in the country for the next two years).  i had to put up the standard deposit which was 1 1/2 months rent.

sure, some rental agencies may have a problem with it but many do not.

Depends with the agents, they may need a guarantor if you have no credit history here. you said your husband is UK Citizen, has he lived here recently, because that can make the process easier.

If you have your husband'd offer letter just bring a copy too just to show you will have income.

Hard to really say what you need, i have worked with agents who do not ask for a lot of things and its fairly easy and straightforward to rent through them. Then you get some really difficult agents who insist on a decent credit history etc. My general observation has been if the house is good and they can rent it easily, they are can be very difficult. For hard to let houses they tend to be more flexible and will be willing to negotiate on most things.

When you find a place you like some agents may charge you agency fees for around 80+ and you may need 6month deposit + one month rental.