Guarantor not wanting to authorise OpenRent's OpenBanking to check her affordibility

Landlord Discussion
1

I have a student I have accepted as my next tenant. He is from the Ukraine and he will pay 6 months upfront and then the remainder year upfront across three consecutive months in Oct., Nov. and Dec. I also have a guarantor for him, who is a UK resident, with UK property (2 flats) and who is also Ukrainian.

I have bought OpenRent’s reference check for his guarantor and she passed the ID check and credit check but she did not pass the affordability check because she was not comfortable giving OpenRent access to her financials through OpenRent’s “OpenBanking” – (she argued in light of the recent password hacking with Google, etc.) She is worried to give such access and offered to send me statements privately instead. She is currently on maternity leave (has 4 kids). She sent me her end of year statement for how much she earned last year (45K) – she works for a dermatologist. And also she sent me her last bank statement from her Natwest (side) account that has 10K in it, though no movement of money into it. She also had shared with me that she has an HSBC account with more money in it, but did not show me any statement from this account. Some questions that I would be grateful for help with:

  1. Could you please advise what I should ask from here in light of her not feeling comfortable to authorise OpenRent’s OpenBanking check? Over the phone she said she really didn’t prefer to give it access but she’d prefer to send me her statements privately via Whatsapp instead. What should I ask for? Should I ask for the last 6 – or 3 —months payslips from an account with incomings as well as outcomings?
  2. She has given me only a payslip from one of her ‘side accounts’ that has a static 10k in it but no ‘incomings’ to it. And she gave me her tax document showing how much she made that year (45K). Is this enough evidence for affordability – along with her owning a UK flat?
  3. Or, should I insist she use OpenRent’s Open Banking to check her affordability? What could I say to her to not feel afraid of its security?
  4. Would OpenRent accept her sending in bank statements to OpenRent INSTEAD of the OpenBanking access? (That way, I’d then be eligbile – assuming she pases – for OpenRent’s GuaranteeRent as well should I chose to purchase it.)

I do want to ensure she is legit and has the money to pay should the student fail to in the future. I appreciate your help and assistance on this one.

Thank you in advance.
Kind regards

2

You really need to see the outgoings as well as income to assess affordability. Bank statements will show this.

3

If they do not sign up to open banking, then the Openrent reference process will default to manual employer reference etc. Has she filled in her employers details etc?

1 Like
4

Thank you for your help. Yes, she did and we’re awaiting employer’s reply.

Should I also ask for her last six months of bank statements? It seems quite intrusive. I need to ensure she has incomings. She has four kids and is married but I don’t know anything about her husband and if her salary is 45K that’s not enough to potentially pay as a guarantor along with her own family expenses.

Kind regards

5

Ask for as much information as possible
It’s not intrusive it’s due diligence

1 Like
6

Hi @Jacquie1,

As some others in this thread have rightfully mentioned, if the applicant does not consent to Open Banking (or their bank is incompatible) we will instead rely on an income referee to verify earnings.

We’re not able to accept copies of documents such as bank statements or payslips, but you’re welcome to request these from the applicant directly.

You can read more about Open Banking and its security here.