Self employed tenant reference check

Landlord Discussion
1

An agent introduced a tenant who has paid a holding deposit and now the reference check is in progress. Then I found out that the potential is actually self employed as the CEO of his own limited company; and he only came to the UK two years ago. According to the agent, the tenant claimed he makes £110k per year. I went to the government website checking his company record; it’s just a shell company having no transaction whatsoever in the last two years.

I don’t think the reference checking can find too much given he hasn’t been in the UK for long. I am having a bad feeling about this. Is there any way I can do extra check? Or I should just walk away to be safe rather than being sorry later? I will have to pay the agent £400 for admin fee if the reference check doesn’t find any problem according to the contract with the agent. But that’s still better than more serious problems later I think.

Someone suggested a 6 month or a whole year rent upfront; this doesn’t give me full assurance though. Maybe a guarantor is useful here?

2

You should personally be checking several months bank statements and 2 years of SA302.

However with no trading history it sounds like it’s all a non starter, unless you have checked the wrong company name.

As I’ve said previously, guarantor certainly helps and rent upfront.

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Are you getting rent guarantee insurance? If so they will need to be satisfied.

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I will definitely get rent guarantee but not sure which one I will be using; probably direct line landlord insurance with rent guarantee add on.
Don’t know which reference checking company the agent is using. Once reference checking report is done, I will double check with direct line to make sure they’re satisfied.
Thanks for the heads-up!

5

The reference check just came back and it says the prospective tenant has 0 annual income but a saving of £87k and hence PASSED the reference check done by RightMove. This doesn’t make much sense to me!

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To me that is ridiculous that it’s passed. I cannot see how any rent guarantee scheme would accept this.

Ask the agent if their own rent guarantee scheme would accept this tenant based on zero income.

He could buy a Porsche tomorrow and then there’s nothing!

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7

this is a laugh no income and plenty in the bank… plainly reject

8

My takeaways from this: Get a better agent who applies some common sense and always do your own referencing (I always do).

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9

take 5 years upfront and hope he has a job at the end of it. !!!

10

Unbelievable; after I said I can’t accept someone within 0 annual income. The agent asked Rightmove to do the reference again; now they issued a new report saying the tenant’s annual income is 95k.
Sounds like a magic number they just made up.

Now I am asking to see tenant’s previous 12 months’ bank statement or pay slips and his P60.

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Does agents rent guarantee scheme accept tenants with no annual income and savings only?

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Agent said because the reference checking is done by Rightmove, I can buy a rent guarantee from Rightmove.

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