Landlord wants 6 months rent upfront? LEGIT?
We are interested in renting a flat in London - 1 worker, 2 students. He says as we don't meet a minimum income requirement (since 2 out of 3 people are students), we will all have to pay 6 months rent up front. He claims 90% of professional agents ask of this.
Have you found this to be case? No one else has mentioned this to me.
Have you found this to be case? No one else has mentioned this to me.
Original post by james.proctor
We are interested in renting a flat in London - 1 worker, 2 students. He says as we don't meet a minimum income requirement (since 2 out of 3 people are students), we will all have to pay 6 months rent up front. He claims 90% of professional agents ask of this.
Have you found this to be case? No one else has mentioned this to me.
Have you found this to be case? No one else has mentioned this to me.
I've not personally had it. But I've certainly heard that some landlords want some months rent upfront.
I was once asked to pay a whole year of rent up front (£7+K) or pay £300 in fees to arrange for a guarantor.
I exceeded the income requirements comfortably but there was a clause in my employment contract (which they insisted on seeing) that said I would be on a 6 month probation.
While I appreciate that agents and landlords are keen to ensure that they will be paid I had a strong feeling that the pervading reason behind it was to generate money in additional fees (ie; guarantor "contract fee", guarantor credit check fee, etc).
I exceeded the income requirements comfortably but there was a clause in my employment contract (which they insisted on seeing) that said I would be on a 6 month probation.
While I appreciate that agents and landlords are keen to ensure that they will be paid I had a strong feeling that the pervading reason behind it was to generate money in additional fees (ie; guarantor "contract fee", guarantor credit check fee, etc).
Original post by james.proctor
We are interested in renting a flat in London - 1 worker, 2 students. He says as we don't meet a minimum income requirement (since 2 out of 3 people are students), we will all have to pay 6 months rent up front. He claims 90% of professional agents ask of this.
Have you found this to be case? No one else has mentioned this to me.
Have you found this to be case? No one else has mentioned this to me.
If you agree to this, make sure that the money is held in escrow.
Original post by james.proctor
We are interested in renting a flat in London - 1 worker, 2 students. He says as we don't meet a minimum income requirement (since 2 out of 3 people are students), we will all have to pay 6 months rent up front. He claims 90% of professional agents ask of this.
Have you found this to be case? No one else has mentioned this to me.
Have you found this to be case? No one else has mentioned this to me.
Yes, six months rent up front is relatively common when there is a question on the tenant(s)' ability to pay (i.e. don't meet the minimum income requirements, or referencing recommends a guarantor but there isn't one). It's not ideal but it's not dodgy either
Original post by james.proctor
We are interested in renting a flat in London - 1 worker, 2 students. He says as we don't meet a minimum income requirement (since 2 out of 3 people are students), we will all have to pay 6 months rent up front. He claims 90% of professional agents ask of this.
Have you found this to be case? No one else has mentioned this to me.
Have you found this to be case? No one else has mentioned this to me.
In a heated property market ( aberdeen during oil boom a few years ago), when there seemed to be more jobs that property available. People were offering me 6 months cash upfront to secure rented accommodation.
I know someone offered my mum 6 months rent upfront for one of her flats in london... so it does happen.
It's not common in my experience, but doesn't seem dodgy based on the fact that it's London and you don't meet the minimum income threshold. Certainly, I've heard of 2 or 3 months rent paid up front, so 6 months isn't unthinkable. Do your research on the landlord to make sure they're legitimate, and try to get the money held in Escrow or something.
I unfortunately was required to do this for my flat, as well as providing a guarantor and paying fees on referencing for my guarantor. I think its quite common when going through a non student agency.
it's ****ed up but thats what they do to keep the neighbourhood nice, because like if you can't even afford it anyway, and you can't afford 6 months (that is a lot of money though but not a lot of time to already move out if you get me), then they won't trust you can afford the tenancy. And will not want you staying there. I'm sure they could negotiate affordability for you 
but wont most most likely. In their head 6mths is the negotiation. 6mths up front where I live would still be a lot but far less than I imagine in London 
but wont most most likely. In their head 6mths is the negotiation. 6mths up front where I live would still be a lot but far less than I imagine in London (edited 6 years ago)
I've paid six months up front in order to skip getting a guarantor. It's not that unusual.
OP he's basically entitled to ask for whatever he wants before he gives you his property. And he has good reason to be cautious with students.
OP he's basically entitled to ask for whatever he wants before he gives you his property. And he has good reason to be cautious with students.
As long as you have proof of payment and a contract that says you've paid those 6 months so he can't kick you out (or will refund any months outstanding) then it shouldn't be a problem. A good option to have proof of payment is to send the cash by bank transfer.
Original post by BonsaiClouds
It's not common in my experience, but doesn't seem dodgy based on the fact that it's London and you don't meet the minimum income threshold. Certainly, I've heard of 2 or 3 months rent paid up front, so 6 months isn't unthinkable. Do your research on the landlord to make sure they're legitimate, and try to get the money held in Escrow or something.
Risky for the tenant, cuts down the risk for a landlord (@ least for the first 6 months) as payment is upfront ( good cash flow for landlord tooo)...
Original post by ebam_uk
Risky for the tenant, cuts down the risk for a landlord (@ least for the first 6 months) as payment is upfront ( good cash flow for landlord tooo)...
Yes, exactly. It's definitely a mixture of risk management and increasing cashflow for the landlord. It's up to OP to decide whether that's an acceptable deal really, I was just saying this kind of deal isn't inherently dodgy.
Original post by james.proctor
We are interested in renting a flat in London - 1 worker, 2 students. He says as we don't meet a minimum income requirement (since 2 out of 3 people are students), we will all have to pay 6 months rent up front. He claims 90% of professional agents ask of this.
Have you found this to be case? No one else has mentioned this to me.
Have you found this to be case? No one else has mentioned this to me.
I work in an estate agents - the usual practice from what I've seen is that if you can't meet the minimum annual income requirement then they'll want rent upfront so they know you can afford to pay the rent. Otherwise they won't be sure that you'll still pay the rent and it'll just cause a lot of problems
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