Updating post from Reddit.
We’re getting so many rejected applications.
Applicant 1:
Female 56 years old Part time retail assistant (7 years in role) Annual income around £13k PIP, UC to support income Currently renting for 9 years Non-smoker
Applicant 2: Male 23 years old Full time IT Technician (5 years in role) Annual income around £24k Living with applicant 1 - contributes £500 to rent Non-smoker
Neither applicants have CCJs, etc…
Also in the household: 15 year old senior dog
Edit: the properties we are trying to rent for are between £1,000-£1,250 in Manchester.
The problem is you do have several potential red flags, and so if there is an alternative tenant, they're going to get picked instead. It sucks but it's how it works.
UC and a dog are both negatives.
I don't know where you're trying to rent or for how much, but affordability could also be a factor.
Sorry, I forgot to add the location and price. Manchester and between £1k-£1.25k.
How come UC is a negative even if it’s just to support income? And the applicant is working? I get UC being a red flag, but I thought it wouldn’t be as much if the receiver was also in work.
It just muddies the water. The worry is what would happen if for whatever reason it suddenly wasn't paid? It's not a huge issue, but it just simply is a negative if the LL was comparing you both to a 'rival' potential tenant.
I would suggest working with the agents to help 'sell' your situation better. Maybe you say you are looking to rent long term, that the dog is well trained and you will cover any damage etc. It may seem offencive or dumb but it does help.
For £1250 I need 40k plus salary. The reference will fail on affordability. Which means can't get rent guarantee insurance. Last one I did their salary was 42k and they were covered for £1300 or £1350 per month rent.
40k salary for only 1250 a month. I pay 900 mortgage on 23k salary
40k is under £2700 a month take home, even if opted out of pension. £1250 is nearly half of that. I can see why insurance might not want to go any higher risk than that.
Mortgage is different story. They have value in what you call "my home". It is not yours until you pay last pence of mortgage. Renting doesn't have any sort of such protection. Therefore you need 30x as much as rent in yearly income.
Landlords take the piss
Not the landlord, it's the insurance company
Not a landlord but you appear to be risky.
You can only afford your rent if your son (I assume it's your son and not your partner) continues to live with you. If he moved out, you cannot afford the rent. That would be the biggest red flag to me. Then you have the added red flags of dogs and being reliant on benefits.
I am the son. I thought I may be a risk.
On paper you're less of a risk. You're working. Full time. Not a bad salary it could be better.
If you can actually find a better higher paying job in theory you might pass on your application alone.
It's likely just about income to rent ratio. Sorry you're having trouble. Keep costs down, save hard, look for any extra income, and keep on going. It'll come good.
A lot of landlords don't want dogs, particularly in upper floor flats, and affordability is borderline. Unfortunately there will probably always be tenants who look more attractive.
Your best bet is to try and go for cheaper properties and/or approach landlords direct (i.e. OpenRent) rather than go through agents.
Landlords are probably also thinking what if you find a partner, get a job offer elsewhere and move out - your mum won't be able to afford on her own.
One large subset of landlords won’t accept people claiming benefits. Another fairly large subset won’t accept pets, especially perhaps an elderly pet. Sorry it’s so tough for you.
Some of us insure the tenancies for unpaid rent and legal costs.
The insurance companies wouldn't generally insure you as 2 will fail affordability solo, and 1 is on benefits.
The dog will make it even less likely.
Sorry not going to be easy. A strong guarantor may help.
My issues would be if your son (I assume ?) moves out, you can’t afford the rent. And he’s working and close to an age where he could move out at any time, add the dog into to that and it would be a no from me sorry. It’s too tight finance wise and insurance wouldn’t underwrite this either. The UC wouldn’t be my biggest issue.
Yeah, I am the son. I’d be living at home for another few years before I move out, but yeah I thought I’d be a risk.
Im sorry you’re both struggling it’s really frustrating. But in honest the reason why id deny these applicants is due to that risk. On part time work and UC without your rent contributions she wouldn’t pass affordability on £1200 rent. It’s tough out there with rents being so high.
sorry to tell you but the dog is the issue, even with 50k salaries
Like the other comment mentioned, dog and UC are both big negatives and the likely reasons for this. Some may also prefer couples/families with smaller kids rather than a mother & son combo in that age bracket.
With the sky high demand, landlords can cherry pick the perfect applicant(or at least what they see as the ‘perfect’ applicant).
How much rent were you paying in your previous place?
We’re paying £950 for a three-bed that’s full of issues. We’ve been here 9 years this year, landlord is selling up at some point in 2025
Because that figure is so close to what you’re looking for at the moment, it could be worth trying to sell that fact a little more to your potential landlords via the EA.
What’s the monthly rent you’re trying to get?
£1k-£1.25k in Manchester
I’m not a landlord but the maths in my head makes it sound like that would be tight. I’m sorry you’re having such a hard time. :(
As a landlord, I would consider those finances too tight.
I want my tenants to have a decent income cushion so they aren't surviving on only instant noodles...
I'd encourage you to rent one of my smaller/cheaper properties (ie. A room in a shared house), and then keep the extra money for other quality of life improvements (savings, the occasional holiday, date nights, whatever).
More importantly, it is a huge risk to my business if you can't pay your rent and I'm forced to let you stay for free for 9 months whilst the courts very slowly evict you for non-payment. I'd much rather that if one of you gets sick/gets fired/you break up there are a few savings to cover the rent.
The idea that a mother and adult son might need to share a bedroom in a shared house to keep a roof over their heads is a really depressing reflection of the current state of UK housing
We’ve been paying £950 for where we are now, so we can afford it and room in a shared house is not really an option for us as myself and my mum need a house.
As a renter of a room in a shared house. We're paying almost as much as rent on a full house, the fuck you talking about.... uc, housing benefit and pip is more than enough. She's not risky. You're picky
If they're on pip and UC, assuming they have a carer, they would get paid the two bedroom rate paid in their rent which is £172.60 a week. I cannot see it being a problem
It's crazy how ridiculously expensive rent is these days and how hard it can be to actually rent
I had never rented before and always thought it would be quite easy. With a joint income of 60k we get rejections. The area is popular I think and our credit ratings are rubbish.
The dog is the issue. Landlords don’t like it.
It’s affordability and given competition there will be applications from others with higher income.
Just came here to say, all you money grabbing scum are pond life
It is often who you are competing against sadly - no job and no UC would be a winner over yourselves.
Sounds to me like you have diversified income streams and would be looking for a long-term rental. Both of those things would be a real plus in my eyes.
Do you have a good reference / rental history? No evictions for not paying rent?
Just try to look at places early and be quick to apply I guess.
Yep, long term. +5 years, easily.
No evictions, no rent arrears. Rent always paid on time.
Sorry to hear that you can't find a home to live in, but unfortunately you just don't have enough money to be worth my time. I need someone who can help me pay off my mortgage. 😟
The fact that you are helping out an older relative (I assume) is a huge red flag obviously - have you considered abandoning them?
Unfortunately the state of the economy means that you are unworthy of shelter.
It breaks my heart - honestly.
Obviously I own multiple houses - it's crazy how the demand for housing outstrips the supply - really makes you think. On the bright side the value of my portfolio is increasing every day, and due to the cost of living crisis I can pretty much raise the rent to whatever I want.
Bye!
How patronising
Shame on you. I hope karma finds you.
It wasn't abundantly obvious this is satire of the other comments in this parasitic swamp.
I sure hope the massive wealth inequality in our country doesn't hold any terrible consequences for the landlord class down the road!
Keep on sucking while you can brother - the county is almost dry.
🦟
Those landlords and their responses did more to inform and help than your comment did. There is someone in need here and all you did was spout nonsense. Next time keep it to yourself as it adds absolutely nothing for those needing information.
Thinking about the situation makes the landlords feels sad. 😞
I would rather hurt this poor bastard's feelings than close my eyes and contribute to the economic collapse of this shithole country by allowing these vampires to believe this is an acceptable way to make a living.
Go poke yourself in the Taint. Dickhead.
You are not helpful. Just a Twat spouting off and wasting Oxygen. Either try and help or do one.
What a very strange individual you are. You're coming onto a specific subreddit just to be abusive to people you don't know because "hur dur all landlords are bad".
What is your solution?