What References do I Need to Rent a London Flat?

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What references will my landlord want?

Before you move into a new property, it’s almost certain that your landlord will want some form of reference to check that you’re who you say you are , and that you’re not going to move in and immediately stop paying rent.

If you’re prepared for this and have your referees primed, you’ll stand a better chance of moving into your desirable property sooner rather than never. Let’s take a look at what you’re likely to be asked for.

Proof of ID

This is basic but essential. Have a passport or driving licence, plus a utility bill or bank statement to prove your current address. Make copies that you can give to your landlord: it shows you’re organised and business-like – and will definitely help you stand out as a prospective great tenant!

Employers’ reference

This is the other essential. Your landlord will want to know that you can afford the rent (i.e. you’re being paid enough) and that you have a stable job that you’re not about to lose.

Do your homework. Know who in your organisation should be contacted, and tell them you’ll be needing a reference shortly. Or better still, ask them to write you an open reference confirming your employment status and salary. You can still expect your landlord to contact your employer to verify it, but it might save a day or two if you need to move in quickly.

Previous landlord

Your previous landlord can – I hope – confirm that you pay your rent on time and haven’t trashed the place. The problem here is likely to come if the reason that you’re moving is that your current landlord is a shark who never completes repairs, or they’re uncontactable. You might consider offering your last-but-one landlord as a referee (best to ask them first) instead – though of course you’ll need to explain to your new landlord why you’re doing this.

Financial checks

If your prospective landlord wants a bank reference, be prepared for some delays

banks take a long time to complete references, and are understandably vague

Have 6 months of bank statements handy if you need to prove your financial status.

Expect credit checks – if there are problems, admit them up front and explain them. It’s better to say “I had a business that went under; I’m sorting things out”, than hope no one notices a CCJ or three.

Guarantors

In some circumstances, landlords may prefer to have a guarantor rather than a reference. A guarantor is someone who signs to say that they will pay your rent if you don’t: often a parent if you’re in student accommodation, for example. I know some landlords of HMOs who say they will only deal with guarantors: they typically rent to people who have little employment or renting history, and to have someone with their own home stand surety is, they say, easier.

Whatever references your landlord asks for, be open with them if you can’t provide them. It’s much better to be honest and offer an alternative than have a friend pretend to be your boss. Most landlords have taken plenty of references in the past and will see through that in minutes – meaning you’ve lost the property you wanted.

James Davis - Upad

A guest post by James Davis, the CEO of Upad.co.uk, the UK’s leading online lettings agent. Upad lists your rental property on 100+ sites and portals – including Rightmove – for just £59: tenant guaranteed. Follow the Upad blog and on Twitter for rental industry news and tips for landlords on making the most of your properties

Tags: Financial Services, Flats, Landlord, Property, Rent, Rental, Studios
Posted in Renting on March 3rd, 2010 | No Comments »

The Pimlico Housing Revolution – Homes for Heros, Flats to Rent

Harry Pollitt, General Secretary of the CPGB.

Image via Wikipedia

Contrary to what might seem logical, squatting in England and Wales is not a criminal offence (providing there is no evidence of forced entry); however, regardless of the legal issues if a property does become occupied by squatters, resolving the subsequent problems of ownership, possession and potential homelessness can be a lengthy process and the source of much legal, financial and emotional distress for all parties involved. Whether people have occupied a property through cultural choice, or as political statement, or out of necessity and in direct response to homelessness and a lack of suitable housing; squatting inevitably results in conflicts of interest and allegiance.

Pimlico might not seem a likely setting for a ‘squatting revolt’ but in 1946 that’s exactly what happened. In his excellent book, a History of Modern Britain, Andrew Marr describes the choreographed mass arrival on Kensington High Street, on the 8th September 1946, of approximately a thousand people (mainly young couples with children) intent on finding decent accommodation. Officials from the London Communist Party had already identified empty properties across London, including in Marylebone, Ealing and Pimlico, and so began the process of taking over these empty properties and moving the families in.

To set the scene – the housing situation in post-war Britain was a critical issue: half a million homes had been destroyed or made uninhabitable by German air raids, a further 3 million badly damaged and, overall, a quarter of Britain’s 12.5 million homes were damaged in some way. There simply weren’t enough houses to go round and an estimated 45,000 people were squatting in Nissen huts, flats, disused army camps, military bases and other properties.

Marr describes the reaction to the London squatters as “superbly British”. Public support was enthusiastic and food parcels, blankets, money, chocolate and cigarettes were collected for the squatters. The press were sympathetic, and the Women’s Voluntary Service provided hot drinks. The government’s response was that the revolt should be stopped, and eventually it “fizzled out” and the squatters left: apparently after they were threatened with losing their positions in the council housing queue.

Government response was more positive in other areas, and between 1945 and 1949, built 156,623 ‘prefab’ houses – many of which were still much loved by their occupants and still lived in in the 1970s.

A fascinating (and entertaining) British Film Institute National Archive film shows an extract from a trailer investigating prefabricated houses as an alternative to solve Britain’s housing crisis. (You’ve got to love those accents )

I wonder if London, or any UK city or community, would see a similar level of public support for an army of homeless families / squatters descending on their community one day. Or was it the unique circumstances of post-war Britain, with its continuing rationing, overcrowding and poor standards of housing for many, that had bred a particularly strong sense of community spirit – a feeling of all having survived the war together – that would be impossible to replicate now?

Guest Blog by Angela Boothroyd of Online English Lessons

Tags: Flats, History of Modern Britain, Homelessness, Pimlico, Squatting
Posted in Property on February 26th, 2010 | No Comments »

February Studio Rental Vacancies at Pimlico Flats

Pimlico Flats Entrance

All flats advertised qualify for our January flat for free for a month offer. We have 2 brand new Studio Flats left recently completed and priced at £1300 pcm, and £1400 pcm. One of these flats has a private Roof Terrace. We also have a 2 Bedroom Groundfloor Flat (or 1 Bedroom and Livingroom) available soon (it’s just having a new shower room fitted) for £1300 pcm. Finally we have a Studio Flat (new last September) for £999 pcm from January 31st. If you wish to view any of these properties please telephone 07947 777575.

We always have short term vacancies available for weekly lets. If you are after a letting of less than 6 months please enquire giving us details of your dates, and the type of property that you wish to rent and we will reply indicating whether we can meet your dates, and with a quote for the cost, within 24 hours.

Tags: Flats, London, Pimlico Flats, Rent, Rental, Studio
Posted in Pimlico Flats on January 27th, 2010 | No Comments »

Rent London Flats – Facebook to Replace Gumtree?

Pimlico Flats on Facebook

Last year I wrote about the changing face of London Flat Rental Advertising. In a series of 3 articles I traced the history of how to find a London Flat to rent informing both tenants and landlords where they should be looking for flat rental.

In particular I predicted the death of Gumtree, dragged down by the predominance of scamming adverts. Originally Gumtree’s success was founded on a combination of free advertisements, and community, basing itself around cities and providing newcomers with a source of information on everything that they might be looking for. Gumtree still continues, with the new Beta version being commented on, and it’s charges ever increasing to cover the costs of the site revamp. It continues to succeed because it’s only major competitor – Craig’s List, – is just as plagued with scammers, and considerably harder to navigate, but now there is an alternative that might just sink Gumtree for all it’s new investment. Facebook Marketplace.

OK – I’ll be honest, not new – just new to me. Facebook Marketplace was set up in May 2007, and in March 2009 ownership transferred to Oodle, a specialist Internet Classifieds website. It runs integrated with Facebook, and listings on Facebook Marketplace are syndicated onto Oodle’s website as well. The reason that I have chosen to highlight Facebook’s Classifieds as the website that will sink Gumtree is …… trust.

The biggest problem with trading on the internet is that of trust, and maybe Facebook have cracked the problem. A Facebook/Oodle Classified Ad comes vouched for by the Facebook ID that listed it, so the advertiser is no longer as anonymous as a Gumtree Ad. with a Hotmail eMail contact.

That strikes me as a powerful USP when you are looking to rent a London Flat.

Tags: Add new tag, Advertising, Craigslist, Flats, Gumtree, London, Rent, Rental
Posted in Renting on January 20th, 2010 | 4 Comments »

A Central London Flat Rented to a Couple Free

Inner London shown within Greater London

Image via Wikipedia

Yes Pimlico Flats are going to let a couple have a flat in Central London free for a month.

We keep telling people that there is no such thing as a free lunch, and that if it’s too good to be true then it is …… and then we go and do this!

So yes – terms and conditions apply, so make sure that you understand what you have to do to get your flat free for a month. Last time we did this we had a pile of people who just wanted the free month – it doesn’t quite work like that! Here is the deal …..

This is available for couples who enter into a tenancy during January only.
It applies to any of our advertised flats.
This is for 8 month tenancies only.
To qualify for the free month you have to pay the preceding 7 months rent on time, meet all the tenancy obligations, and look after the flat (i.e. make good any damage that isn’t fair wear and tear).
To qualify for the free month you must be able to show that you have promoted Pimlico Flats

There are no other fancy tricks, it’s a straight up and down offer from a straight up and down business. Look at one of our vacant flats, like it, sign up for the tenancy, get the 8th month free.

FAQ

What if I don’t want to stay as long as 8 months? – Then the offer isn’t available.
What if i want to stay longer than 8 months? – Then the tenancy continues and we welcome you as a long term tenant. You still get that 8th month free, then you carry on paying the rent.
How can I be sure that I will get my free month? – Because we promised it to you. There are no tricks. Come and meet us, talk to existing tenants.
Why are you doing this? – Because we have just built 9 flats and for marketing reasons want some vacant flats in October 2010, so rather than hold them empty until then we are making this offer.
Why is it only available to couples? – Because it’s a great deal, and we would rather 2 people benefited than one person.
What do you mean by “Promoted Pimlico Flats”? – Write a blog about us, link your website to our website, retweet our tweets. Come on people – this is free accommodation! We have to get something out of this too!

Tags: Flats, Pimlico, Pimlico Flats, Rent
Posted in General, Pimlico Flats on January 12th, 2010 | 1 Comment »

Moving Flat in London

If you have just rented a flat in Pimlico, London or are thinking of renting one, the next move would be arranging your removal company. Most people will look in the local papers or yellow pages, some will google a removal company, these are all good places to start. In London you will find very few removal firms in the centre, so that means the company will have to travel you current address and then drive into the area your London apartment is in. So the cost for moving could be slightly higher. If you are looking for a cost effective option and are able to move in at a weekend, a courier may be an excellent option for your move. A Jumbo Transit or Jumbo Sprinter can fit a two bedroom house into it easily. If you have even less items than that, a ’student’ move should be considered. So if you are packed, your driver and porter can come and collect you and soon you will be living in your new London flat. When your delivery company has arrived at your new London Apartment, they will need to make sure there is adequate parking outside so they can help unload. If there is not a lot of parking space near your new home, then unloading will take longer. You will need to remember when moving home, you will need your removal people to be considerate of the home you are leaving as well as the home you are moving into. Enjoy your new apartment and we hope your move goes with ease. Sarah Arrow

Sarah Arrow is a director of a same day courier company based in Essex. They deliver into London daily and help people with moving into their new homes at a cost effective rate. They can be contacted on 0844 884 3331 (local rate)

Tags: Flats, London, Tips
Posted in London on January 11th, 2010 | No Comments »

Renting a London Flat? That Don’t Impress Me Much

Nick Parkin

More money is lost to “Reputable” businesses than to scammers from Nigeria!

When you visit an agent try not to be carried away with their stylish office, this is not necessarily a sign of probity. In the previous articles I talked about the importance of accountability, & the signs of a normal transaction – the 3 Ps of Property might be said to be Presence, Premises, Phone. Well – the reverse applies also – beware a triumph of Presentation. By now you may well be thinking – what can possibly be wrong with a reputable firm, an expensive office in a prime location, & a fine company car to chauffer me around the very finest properties? The answer is requires a little thought & understanding of the business model that supports this sales strategy.

An agent’s life is a difficult one, they sit between Landlord & Tenant with nothing to survive on but their wit, blamed by both for the failing of the other, & very often reviled for no reason of their making. You could be forgiven for thinking that an Agent’s role is to sell property to tenants – in fact that is of secondary consideration. In the London market there is a surfeit of both tenants & agents, & the 1st objective of any agent will be to convince landlords that they are best served registering their properties with that particular agency. This means promising a higher rent than anyone else can achieve – generally promising “Company Lets”. The more luxurious the office, car, & suit, the more believable the promise of premium rents.

The same luxurious office, car, & suit works to impress a prospective tenant of the value of the flats that they have on their books, but now the business model is slightly different. The competition is other agents, & the idea is to keep the prospective tenant viewing your flats, to keep their choice to one of your landlords – any one. The ideal way of achieving this is to drive them around from flat to flat & not let them out of the car flat or office until a tenancy agreement has been signed. They don’t care which flat you sign for – but they do care that you sign for one of them!

So what’s the Scam? Well – there is nothing actually illegal, but you do need to beware that you don’t end up paying far more than you need have. Your chauffer come property consultant is on commission, & this means that it is in his/her interest to see you spend as much money as possible. Agents charge Landlords from 10+% for finding a tenant to 17% for a fully managed letting (I’ve included the VAT as it isn’t an output for residential letting) – & a big chunk of that will go to the negotiator, so they will be trying to negotiate a managed letting, & also a longer contract than you might have thought of, locking you into the higher rent that they have sold you on. Don’t kid yourself – that commission is coming straight out of your rent!

It’s not a scam in the sense of fraud, but nevertheless I know of a tenant who ended up spending £3000 to buy himself out of a 24 month contract that he should never have been signed up for by a reputable agent. At Pimlico Flats we offer 6 month contracts & allow the tenant to stay as long as they wish – we know that they will want to stay with us voluntarily, so we don’t need to contract tenants to longer lettings.

So protect yourself against the Men in Suits:

Visit properties from more than 1 agent
Visit properties not let through an agent
Be clear what length of tenancy you want to commit to, & don’t sign for anything longer than you know that you need.

Tags: Flats, Rent
Posted in Renting on November 25th, 2009 | 1 Comment »

London Rental Vacancies for December

Glass Shower Panel in Rented London Flat

Our current vacancies are:

a 1 (or 2) Bed Flat for £1300 from 1^st December,

and of course our immensely popular development of penthouse studios with roof terraces

We have been building 9 brand new double Studio Flats and the finish on these is superb, with larch kitchens, glass splashbacks and shower walls, and underfloor heating in the showers.

Flat 11 is available from 3^rd December (approx), £1400 pcm

Flat 12 is available from 16^th December (approx), £1300 pcm

Tags: Flats, Vacancies
Posted in Pimlico Flats on November 21st, 2009 | No Comments »

Kitchen Lights in your Rented London Flat

Kitchen Low Energy LED Spotlight

Kitchen Low Energy Spotlight

Lighting is the most important thing in Interior Design.

Yep – Lighting is the most important thing about Interior Design, so when we designed our Flats for rent we got the lighting spot on. We used sleek, contemporary style HD (High Definition) LED lights under our kitchen cabinets to give Pimlico Flats kitchens that WOW! Factor. Not only do our kitchens look stunning, but also we are using a fraction of the energy to light a normal kitchen, and making our contribution to saving the planet.

If you like what you see then contact us to see what flats we have available – if you just want to copy our chic interior design style then take a look at My Kitchen Store and their HD LED Energy Saving Lighting.

Tags: Architecture, Flats
Posted in Property on November 19th, 2009 | No Comments »

Zoopla or Loot to Rent a London Flat?

Sofa

The dominant force of the 1990s rental market was Loot, whose death left a hole in the market, later to be filled by Gumtree. Now the market for finding a London Flat has been turned on it’s head by two dramatic new moves:

Zoopla has bought it’s 3 major competitors – PropertyFinder.com, HotProperty.co.uk and ThinkProperty.com – and combined the best features from each of the websites into Zoopla.co.uk which will now offer a range of new services to the millions of home movers who visit the website each month Zoopla CEO Alex Chesterman said: “Following our acquisitions over the summer, it was important for us to consolidate onto a single brand and technology platform as quickly as possible in order to deliver the benefits to our users, we have taken the best-in-class features of all of our websites and combined these”
Loot has relaunched it’s ailing website in a bid to re-establish itself in the property market.

Although both these moves are quite significant within the advertising market …. do you know what? I don’t think it makes an Iota of difference to flat searching!

Tags: Flats, London, loot, Rent, zoopla
Posted in Renting on November 6th, 2009 | 1 Comment »

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What References do I Need to Rent a London Flat?

What references will my landlord want?

Proof of ID

Employers’ reference

Previous landlord

Financial checks

Guarantors

The Pimlico Housing Revolution – Homes for Heros, Flats to Rent

February Studio Rental Vacancies at Pimlico Flats

Rent London Flats – Facebook to Replace Gumtree?

A Central London Flat Rented to a Couple Free

Moving Flat in London

Renting a London Flat? That Don’t Impress Me Much

London Rental Vacancies for December

Kitchen Lights in your Rented London Flat

Zoopla or Loot to Rent a London Flat?

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