We are British citizens, grew up in South Africa, and now returning to the UK.
I have accepted a good job with a large Corporate whom I worked for in SA for 3.5 years, so technically it’s a re-hire… and we are relocating next month - March.
My husband is an Architect, and currently in second stage of interviews with a large firm in London.
Although we have fantastic credit history in South Africa, we will be starting again at Zero credit in the UK.
What would we need to do in order for a landlord to feel secure about us as tenants?
Are there any pre-requisites for tenants coming from abroad?
It’s more common to have little credit history in the UK because pay as you go mobile are more common and credit cards less common. You can offer to show your local credit score but I’m not sure if it’d be needed.
If you can prove you have a job and have references from past landlords, that’s generally enough.
You may want to look for a smaller short term rental based on just your salary until your husband is hired.
Some landlords would take you some wouldn’t take the risk. I’ve just taken on 2 tenants under very similar circumstances. Just keep applying an tell them what you’ve said here. If you can afford multiple months of rent in advance and/or have a UK based guarantor, that may help for some landlords.