I have a potential tenant who has an IVA (under £10K). He has a good income, and his pensionair parents are willing to act as guarantors but have a rather low income. I asked Rentguard and was told he would fail referencing.
Any advice? Thanks!
What was the IVA for? Can he afford both the rent and the IVA?
Rentguard is a bit of a over-simplified checklist process. Anyone that falls outside their rather narrow tenant criteria would automatically fail referencing e.g. self-employed / moving from abroad / student etc. and it’s cumbersome to try to get them to approve anyone outside that usual criteria. I would ask your tenant for proof of permanent employment, last payslip(s), proof of additional savings, and landlord reference. As David says, check what the IVA was for. If it was for non-payment of rent/bills etc then it might not be worth proceeding with this tenant.
If his parents are on a low income, it also won’t be worth getting them as guarantors on the contract as them being pensioners usually excludes them from this anyway. Has he got anyone else he can ask to be a guarantor? The typical requirements for this are also on Rentguard’s website: https://www.rentguardtenantref.co.uk/downloads/Guarantor-Guidelines.pdf