I understand the usual ways of dealing with people who lived in the UK as a tenant, but not sure how to reference foreign tenant who hasn’t lived in the UK before and just got the work visa.
Is it we go through the Guarantor route or there is a industry common method dealing with them?
The reason looking into this population is because they say they have a high salary and then the rent is covered by the company’s renting allowance above the salary. So it sounds relatively safe given that rent is totally paid by the firm (assuming this is all true).
Its still worth referencing imo in case it reveals something unexpected. I would want verification of salary and perks from the employer. I’d also want to receive the rent from the tenant, not their employer, in case it turns into a company let.
As David122 has said, make sure you are renting to the individual that will be living in the property and not the company. You can also make additional checks with Companies House to make sure they are a legitimate company and they are currently trading. Someone posted on another forum that they did this and although the company was listed it hadn’t traded for a couple of years so was obviously a scam. If everything checks out you can also request 6/12 months rent up front.
I did some research, it is a genuine company. It is an antique UK racing sports car company lasted for decades, they’ve recently got acquired by a Japanese car company and as it is now owned by the Japanese they have programme to allow Japanese employees to come over on a work visa.
The tenant visited was a typical Japanese and the flat is next to that company. During the viewing that Japanese was trying to video call internationally with his wife to view the place but wasn’t able to. He said his accommodation will be fully paid by the company while his salary is slightly below affordability. But this salary won’t be used for the rent.
This guy is in his 60s, bit surprising but it is still common for a 60 year old to work even in the UK. Not sure how it will turn out but my impression for Japanese is that they are respectable and rarely hear doggy stories from them. Although, it does seem a bit odd for someone 60 year old and still on a very low salary. The company looks a bit shabby too from google street view, not shiny buildings just antique sports cars garages, but Company House shows they were there since 70s with the same address.
Danny19
Now you have checked the company it does appear to be legitimate. Thinking about it, you presumably advertised your property as a private let and you will be issuing a standard AST for the tenant to sign so there’s no reason to think of it being a company let. I think we may have got sidetracked when you stated that the company will be paying the rent.
I would proceed by referencing the tenant and guarantor.
I think now RGi is back working with Openrent and recommended after your tenant passed reference charging lower than before. I think there were competition from directline which got item coverage as well. But will read in more detail in their terms as I do hear bad reviews in the past.
I’ve deleted the comment as it was written 3 days ago and was stuck waiting for approval.
Basic point was a) Lots of new employees get canned in the first 3 months and b) to avoid being caught out by the T becoming suddenly unemployed do you have Rent Protection Insurance.
Should have been clearer and know now to avoid links as that puts comments into pending.
The reason I have no confidence in RGI is because I believe that there are often loopholes that allow the insurer to wriggle out of paying. I should own up to being a general skeptic about insurance policies anyway, so its possible that there are some that are more worthwhlle.
Looking back at your original post it seems that the tenant rents in their own right but his employer will cover the rent for him. In my experience Japanese companies like to honour their commitments. Based on what you have said this seems good to me.