Let Me Properties

Our standard referencing criteria is generally as follows for tenants renting a property from landlords employing us:

• EMPLOYED/SELF-EMPLOYED: You must earn at least 30 times the monthly rent each year. Adult tenants may combine their income to reach this figure if required, however, no employment-related or housing-related benefits (DSS, DHS, Universal Credit, etc.) income may be included within the calculation of employed/self-employed/retirement income (retirement and disability benefits can be included). Income from property rentals can only be taken into account if the income comes from 5 or more rented properties. For all income that is not paid as PAYE income, you will need to provide a completed tax return for the previous year showing the income level you are required to earn (this is usually in the form of a Tax Calculation document from HMRC).
• No tenants/guarantors may have any adverse credit history, CCJs or convictions. For more information on credit checking and the "The Lettings Hub" referencing criteria (see below).
• STUDENTS: Students can either pay 100% of the rent upfront for the whole tenancy (or per year if more than 1-year tenancy) or may pay their rent monthly or each term (when student finance is paid) with a UK citizen guarantor who passes the referencing criteria. Some landlords are not able to rent their properties to tenants who are full-time students due to conditions imposed on them by their mortgage providers, insurance providers, or the lease on the property (if any). 
• TENANTS ON BENEFITS: Where landlords are allowed to rent their properties to tenants in receipt of benefits, the tenants will need to prove that they have a total combined annual income from benefits of at least 30x the annual rent. Some landlords are not able to rent their properties to tenants whose main or sole income comes from unemployment-related benefits due to conditions imposed on them by their mortgage providers, insurance providers, or the lease on the property (if any). This does not apply to disability benefits, therefore, disability income is treated the same as employment income. Please specify this on your offer form.
• As standard, no pets allowed (however, for some properties you are able to request special permission to keep a pet with you as part of the "Special Conditions" within your offer for the property). Some landlords are not able to rent their properties to tenants with pets due to conditions imposed on them by their insurance providers or the lease on the property (if any). 
• No smoking inside the property.
• As standard, Rooms in Shared houses are available to individuals only (No Couples).
• As standard, a maximum of 2 Adults (as a couple) as allowed per bedroom in a single let property (like a whole flat or whole house) and up to 2 children under 10 years old per bedroom. Children over 10 years old and individual adults (not part of a couple) will need their own bedroom. For example, a 2 bedroom flat may be rented by a couple with one 11-year-old child or two children aged under 10 years old. A house with four bedrooms could be let to 2 adults (as a couple) with 2 teenage children.

There are ways of passing referencing if you do not earn 30x or more the monthly rent per year:

1. Using a Guarantor (subject to the landlord agreeing to this):

• Your Guarantor must earn 36 x or more the monthly rent per year, be a UK citizen and have an excellent credit history (the same rules apply for guarantors as described above for Employed/Self-Employed people)
• The Guarantor would be required to sign a legally binding guarantor agreement - See section 7 of the attached Draft Tenancy Agreement.

2. Paying the full rent upfront for the entire tenancy (subject to the landlord agreeing to this):

3. Providing proof of adequate savings on top of your annual income could help you pass referencing - for example, if you earn £20,000 a year but you need to earn £22,500 to be eligible to rent the property, provable savings of around £3,000 or more would be sufficient to prove that you can rent the property. This proof would need to be in the form of a personal bank statement, in your name, dated within the last 25 days.

Required Documents and Right to Rent:

All tenants and guarantors are required to provide specific documents to us and go through specific documentary checks, please click here to find out more.

"The Lettings Hub" External Referencing Criteria:

"The Lettings Hub" has strict reference criteria and you must ensure that you will receive an "Accept" result from the Lettings Hub referencing. Please contact the Lettings Hub for further information on their referencing criteria.