I am expat and haven’t dealt with letting agents a lot here. It seems like most letting agents when we request for a viewing of the property ask for the salary. In my previous experience with letting agents they only ask for salary though payslips once we put down the holding deposit and contact is ready to be signed.
Is this normal?
13 comments
**Update: – [Starting from 2023](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskUK/comments/100l56v/happy_new_year_askuk_minor_sub_update/), we have updated our [subreddit rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskUK/about/rules/)**. Specifically;
– Don’t be a dick to each other
– Top-level responses must contain genuine efforts to answer the question
– This is a strictly no-politics subreddit
Please keep /r/AskUK a great subreddit by reporting posts and comments which break our rules.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskUK) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Based on my experience it is. Properties will be advertised stating tenants need to meet an earnings threshold of [x] per year and will request proof of that before an “invitation to apply for the property” is extended.
Normal after you have viewed and agreed to rent the place. Definitely not normal before even viewing it.
Yeah, they usually want proof of funds and income before you even apply to rent a place.
I know plenty of people who started renting in the same building as me, being required to share payslip and 3 months of bank statements.
Yes, because they don’t want to mess about showing you places you’ll never be able to afford / pass a basic credit check for.
They want your salary for their basic calculation they have that if someone earns x amount, they can usually pass a credit check to pay x amount per month.
Entirely normal.
There’s high demand at the moment, might be an easy way of sifting through potential candidates
It’s been my experience renting for the last few years, they want to know you can afford the place before wasting time on showing you around and doing credit checks etc. In the UK, lots of agencies will expect you to earn 30x the rent e.g. if the rent is £700, you should be earning £21k a year (gross aka before taxes)
Ive been sent 20 question forms to fill in before being allowed a viewing – including salary, no of pets, any kids, who my employer is.
At the end of the day, if someone takes an hour out of their day to give you a viewing on a property you won’t qualify for, that’s an hour when they’ve not made any money. Maybe they’ve even missed out on an ideal tenant in that time.
If they’re going to get payslips anyway – whats the issue?. They probably just want to avoid timewasters.
No idea, I refuse to use letting agents as they’re all absolute scumbags. I have always rented privately.
Depends on the agent. Sometimes they ask for it, sometimes they don’t. All they’re checking is that you make enough to pay the rent.
Yes. They don’t want time wasters who won’t be able to afford the rent. It also helps them to filter out any places you won’t be able to afford
Be as honest as you want to be. I haven’t had a salary for a long time. The only barrier I’ve had is having to put up 6 months rent up front. That works fine usually.