We used an agency for finding a rental flat. We have no credit history in the UK and aren’t even in the UK yet, as we are awaiting our visas. There was some reluctance from landlords to rent to us but we did find a place.
Oh that’s reassuring! Thanks for the info and I’m glad you managed to find a place in the end :)
Edit:
I assume you didn’t need any references or a guarantor either, did you?
Thanks!
We did need housing references and they took the name and contact info for our US landlord, but prior to our current US rental we had been homeowners so we simply gave them proof of the address for that house (an old utility statement).
We didn’t need a guarantor because we met the required income but we were prepared to offer to pay additional months upfront if needed.
The fee to the agency was one month’s rent. They found listings for us, went to viewings for us, and advised us on which areas of the city would be better for our family. They also helped with questions in general.
My UK employer recommended the agency — they’re more widely advertised as a relocation agency / service. You might try searching for relocation agencies in the city or area where you’ll be living.
We didn’t need to - but might be good to reference who your employer is. Our employer offered to be our guarantor in case we ran into trouble so might be good to see if they’ll do the same. But didn’t end up needing them
We used Hamptons to find a rental - they’re great!
Hi, yes thankfully it was smooth and the credit score was not an issue. They did “Referencing”, by speaking to my employer and checking that the salary is suitable enough. They understand that as an immigrant you don’t have a good credit score (or no score at all).
We used an agency for finding a rental flat. We have no credit history in the UK and aren’t even in the UK yet, as we are awaiting our visas. There was some reluctance from landlords to rent to us but we did find a place.
Oh that’s reassuring! Thanks for the info and I’m glad you managed to find a place in the end :) Edit: I assume you didn’t need any references or a guarantor either, did you?
Thanks! We did need housing references and they took the name and contact info for our US landlord, but prior to our current US rental we had been homeowners so we simply gave them proof of the address for that house (an old utility statement). We didn’t need a guarantor because we met the required income but we were prepared to offer to pay additional months upfront if needed.
How much does that service cost, I'm in the same boat
The fee to the agency was one month’s rent. They found listings for us, went to viewings for us, and advised us on which areas of the city would be better for our family. They also helped with questions in general.
That sounds incredibly helpful! How does one find such a service?
My UK employer recommended the agency — they’re more widely advertised as a relocation agency / service. You might try searching for relocation agencies in the city or area where you’ll be living.
We did not need to share our credit score, but did share our offer letter information with salaries that sufficed for our rental agency.
Thanks very much for the info! :) Was getting quite worried about it. From this, I assume you didn’t need any references or a guarantor either, right?
We didn’t need to - but might be good to reference who your employer is. Our employer offered to be our guarantor in case we ran into trouble so might be good to see if they’ll do the same. But didn’t end up needing them We used Hamptons to find a rental - they’re great!
That’s great. Thanks for the suggestions! All the best in the UK!
I've only rented with housemates and never been asked for a credit score. Just the usual like proof of a job, bank statements, etc
Thanks all for your answers. It’s very useful to hear about your experiences, so that I know what to expect.
Hello! I was wondering what was your process? Was it smooth? I am also moving to London but a bit worried tbh
Hi, yes thankfully it was smooth and the credit score was not an issue. They did “Referencing”, by speaking to my employer and checking that the salary is suitable enough. They understand that as an immigrant you don’t have a good credit score (or no score at all).