Tenant advice UK

[Ghislain]

Hi all,

I’d really appreciate some advice on a tenant situation I’m currently dealing with.

I have a 1-bed flat listed at £975 PCM (no bills included). I’ve had interest from a couple, but their situation is a bit complex:

- The girlfriend would like to be the main tenant and have all bills (including Council Tax) in her name, mainly for personal/immigration-related reasons.

- Her income is around £1,600–£1,700/month + some Universal Credit, which on its own does not meet the affordability requirement (~£2,400–£2,500 PCM).

- The boyfriend has income but does not want to be jointly liable on the tenancy. He prefers to act only as a guarantor.

- He also mentioned he may not live in the property full-time.

From my understanding (and after checking with OpenRent), all adults living in the property should be named on the tenancy, and a joint tenancy would be the correct structure to meet affordability and legal requirements.

I’ve explained that:

- A sole tenancy for the girlfriend would likely fail referencing.

- A guarantor alone may not be sufficient in this case.

- A joint tenancy would solve the affordability issue and meet the criteria.

However, they are still pushing for a structure where she is the main tenant and he is only a guarantor.

My questions are:

1. Would you ever accept this kind of setup (low-income main tenant + partner as guarantor but not on the tenancy)?

2. Is there any safe/legal way to structure this without exposing myself to unnecessary risk?

3. Would you walk away and prioritise a stronger applicant instead?

For context, I’ve also started receiving interest from applicants with stronger financial profiles.

Thank

s in advance for your advice!

[Colin3]

Go for stronger. relationships as above fall apart easily

[David240]

Walk away. She clearly can’t afford on her own and he’s not committed to being there.

Standard affordability threshold is rent no more than 30-40% of gross income. She’s nowhere even close. So she will struggle to pay from what she earns. You can’t rely on her passing on anything from UC

Why risk it?

[Karl11]

Walk away. She doesn’t qualify. Probably a benefit scam.

[David122]

You would still need to do a Right to Rent check on the boyfriend, which it sounds as like he may fail.

[Graham]

They are trying to scam you, its concerning you can’t see that. Walk away.

[tatemono]

My advice would be to never ever waver from what you expect tenants to do/be. If they ask for conditions, that would be fatal to their application in my eyes.