First time renting in the UK questions

So, sorry, which country in the UK are you renting in?

We’ll be In England....between Liverpool and Manchester

It’s just because the post is by Sirius.  She’s lovely but definitely goes into political rants at every opportunity.

Oh, I get it now! 😀 We’re so preoccupied with our own political hot mess in the US I’m not totally up on all the ins and outs (no pun intended) of Brexit.

Oh, I get it now! 😀 We’re so preoccupied with our own political hot mess in the US I’m not totally up on all the ins and outs (no pun intended) of Brexit.

To be fair, we're living in the middle of Brexit, and it's a struggle to stay up on all the ins and outs of it!  The world is a funny place these days.  I was thinking we should just go to the Winchester, have a nice cold pint, and wait for this to all blow over.

If it is for more that 6 months, make sure it has a 6 month break clause so you can leave if you don't like the place. Don't do an EU and get stuck being liable for the entire length of the contract because you forgot to put in a break clause!

Can you expand on this please? What is an EU?

EU = European Union. They lost in court to their landlords in Docklands because they moved out and didn't pay the rent anymore, even though the tenancy contract was still running. The landlords took them to court and the court ruled the EU owed rent right up to the end of that long contract. None of the reasons the EU came up with in court to try to avoid paying those millions was a legit reason not to pay the landlords, not even their plea of hardship. The EU had simply forgotten to ensure there was a break clause in their long term tenancy contract.

That's why I said don't forget to check a tenancy contract of 12 months has a 6 month break clause; don't do an EU. That way you can leave after 6 months (with the correct notice)  and not be liable for the rent for the entire length of that tenancy agreement.

It’s just because the post is by Sirius.  She’s lovely but definitely goes into political rants at every opportunity. 

Ditto It was a rental thing and an example of why the OP needs to ensure they have a break clause if the term is over 6 months, because once moved in the term stands and the rent is owed even if they do move out. It's a lovely (empty) building and has been the talk of many a forum over the last year or two.

Ok...so we won’t obviously have a credit history in the UK but we do have the following....how far will these things go to help prove our financial stability?

1. We recently opened an “Advance” level account with HSBC in the UK, and a companion account in the US.
2. A mortgage-free home in the US that we will be renting out
3. Very good credit rating in the US
4. A letter from my husband’s employer

Anything else recommended to add to this list?

Ok...so we won’t obviously have a credit history in the UK but we do have the following....how far will these things go to help prove our financial stability?

1. We recently opened an “Advance” level account with HSBC in the UK, and a companion account in the US.
2. A mortgage-free home in the US that we will be renting out
3. Very good credit rating in the US
4. A letter from my husband’s employer

Anything else recommended to add to this list?

I don't know anything about that account type, but it will probably carry some weight with qualifying for other products with HSBC, at least.

I can't imagine assets like overseas real estate are going to be of much help, sadly.  It'd be tricky to use that as collateral over here, and that's the only reason a bank might care about it.

My US credit rating was 820 before I left (it's been languishing since and is now down around 770 due to lack of recent history).  Even with that, I couldn't get a mobile phone contract here.  They do not care what we had going on in the US (which is great for people who had bad US credit!)... over here, it's a clean slate.

I have no idea if a letter from your husband's employer means anything to anybody other than Home Office, but if that's all you have because he hasn't actually started working yet, at least it's something you can use to show there will be income coming in.

Ok...so we won’t obviously have a credit history in the UK but we do have the following....how far will these things go to help prove our financial stability?

1. We recently opened an “Advance” level account with HSBC in the UK, and a companion account in the US.
2. A mortgage-free home in the US that we will be renting out
3. Very good credit rating in the US
4. A letter from my husband’s employer

Anything else recommended to add to this list?

As has been mentioned, be prepared to provide up to 6 months rent in advance.

edited for accuracy..

Ok...so we won’t obviously have a credit history in the UK but we do have the following....how far will these things go to help prove our financial stability?

1. We recently opened an “Advance” level account with HSBC in the UK, and a companion account in the US.
2. A mortgage-free home in the US that we will be renting out
3. Very good credit rating in the US
4. A letter from my husband’s employer

Anything else recommended to add to this list?

It's very rare that any of your assets or standings  in the US will affect your standings in the UK (that's positively and negatively - I.E. your good credit rating won't matter here but also, my student loan debt that I'm paying off in the US hasn't impacted me here in the UK...swings and roundabouts really).

Letter from your husband's employer is unlikely to help when it would come to something like BUYING a house, but It could potentially help with renting. Can't say for certain because different land lords might consider different pieces of evidence. One person might find the letter from your husband's employer useful while the others may not even consider it. What would the purpose of the letter be? Would it just be to state he has employment (for example)? If so, I'm not sure that would necessarily make a difference to most people.

Your bank account type is also very unlikely to make an impact, unfortunately.

You'll find things tend to be very "tick box" here, so until you have credit you may need to pay 6 months rent upfront. Be prepared for it, but maybe you will get lucky with a private landlord who is more trusting based on the proof of employment. You can start building credit quickly with HSBC though, I'd try to get a low balance credit card and just pay it off every month if they won't give a better product.

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As has been mentioned, be prepared to provide a larger than usual deposit.

Only for contracts signed before 1 June 2019 in England because of yet more new laws, this time it'sThe Tenancy Fees Act 2019. For tenancy contracts signed from 1 June 2019, the maximum for a Security Deposit on a rental is only allowed to be 5 times the weekly rent.

From 1st June 2019 landlords in England are limited to the equivalent of 5 weeks' rent for new and renewed tenancies
https://landlordlawservices.co.uk/the-tenant-fees-act-changes-on-landlord-law/

Plus all the other fees that will be banned under this law e.g. any landlord or letting agent who charged a fee for a contract to be printed, or charged a fee for reference checks,  or for immigratrion checks, will no longer be allowed to do that.

Only for contracts signed before 1 June 2019 in England because of yet more new laws, this time it'sThe Tenancy Fees Act 2019. For tenancy contracts signed from 1 June 2019, the maximum for a Security Deposit on a rental is only allowed to be 5 times the weekly rent.

From 1st June 2019 landlords in England are limited to the equivalent of 5 weeks' rent for new and renewed tenancies
https://landlordlawservices.co.uk/the-tenant-fees-act-changes-on-landlord-law/

Plus all the other fees that will be banned under this law e.g. any landlord or letting agent who charged a fee for a contract to be printed, will no longer be allowed to do that.

They can still request six months rent in advance though for tenants without UK credit though... at least that's how I've interpreted the guidance.

They can still request six months rent in advance though for tenants without UK credit though... at least that's how I've interpreted the guidance.

What clause of the law did you see that? From what I have read, landlords (section 1) and letting agents (section 2) are not allowed to ask for a deposit which is more than 5 weeks rent, which will be most properties. 50k pa or higher, no more than 6 weeks deposit. Over 100k is not covered by the Act.

Yes, a landlord won't know if the person has been bankrupt in another country, but I assume there must be registers in those countries because insurance companies who ask if there is anyone in the property who has ever been bankrupt,  must check before they pay out on a claim?

Anybody can fall behind with the rent and that is why there is Section 8 of the Housing laws for the landlord to use. When the rent is at least 2 months in arrears they can serve a Section 8 and can apply to the courts for an order to take the property back.

What clause of the law did you see that?

Yes, a landlord won't know if the person has been bankrupt in another country, but I assume there must be registers in those countries because insurance companies who ask if there is anyone in the property who has ever been bankrupt,  must check before they pay out on a claim?

Anybody can fall behind with the rent and that is why there is Section 8 of the Housing laws for the landlord to use. When the rent is at least 2 months in arrears they can serve a Section 8 and can apply to the courts for an order to take the property back.

Bit confused. What does bankruptcy have to do with having no UK credit? You can have no UK credit without ever having been bankrupt in another country?

Bit confused. What does bankruptcy have to do with having no UK credit? You can have no UK credit without ever having been bankrupt in another country?

Perhaps you should read how credit ratings are formed?