Renting privately in the UK involves a few hurdles home students never think about: guarantors who are required to live in the UK, immigration checks, and the challenge of choosing a house in a country you have not arrived in yet. None of them are deal breakers, and thousands of international students clear all three in Lincoln every year.
Four routes when your family lives abroad
Most UK landlords ask each student for a guarantor: an adult who signs a legally binding promise to pay the rent if the tenant cannot. The catch is that guarantors are normally required to live and work in the UK, which rules out most parents living overseas. There are several ways round it.
- A UK based relative or family friendIf they meet the landlord's age and residency requirements, and understand what they are signing.
- A commercial guarantor serviceThey stand as your guarantor for a fee, typically a percentage of the annual rent. Well established and widely accepted, but compare costs and check your landlord accepts the service before paying.
- A university schemeSome universities run their own guarantor schemes for international students. Ask the accommodation or international office whether yours does.
- Simply askingSmaller local agencies in particular can be flexible if you talk to them early. Always ask rather than assuming.
One route that no longer works: paying a large chunk of rent upfront instead. The law now caps rent in advance at one month, so landlords cannot accept six months’ rent as a substitute for a guarantee. Plan around a guarantor solution rather than a lump sum.
A check that applies to everybody
Before any tenancy starts in England, the landlord must check every adult tenant’s immigration status. It is a legal requirement that applies to everyone, including British citizens, so it is nothing personal.
As an international student you will usually prove your status through the government’s online system, which generates a share code from your digital immigration status for the landlord to verify, alongside your passport. Have those details ready when you apply, and expect the landlord to repeat the check if your visa is time limited. Your university’s international office can help if you have any difficulty proving your status.
- Share code and passport
- Applies to British citizens too
- Repeated if your visa is time limited
Ask for a live video viewing
A live video viewing with a member of staff walking the property is a reasonable thing to request, and any legitimate agency can provide one. Better still, if you know anyone already in Lincoln, a friend, a coursemate, or your university’s accommodation service, ask them to view on your behalf.
Deal with established letting agents where you can. In England, agents must belong to a government approved redress scheme and protect client money, which gives you somewhere to turn if things go wrong.
- Video viewing is a fair request
- Use established agents
- Agents must be in a redress scheme
Four rules that stop a scam
Searching from abroad is where international students are most vulnerable, because scammers deliberately target people who cannot view in person. The rules that protect you are simple.
- Never transfer money to secure a property you, or somebody you trust, has not seen.
- Be suspicious of prices well below the market. There is no bargain that good.
- Be suspicious of a landlord who cannot or will not do a live video viewing.
- Be suspicious of pressure to pay quickly, or to pay by untraceable means.
There is no shame in arriving first
Plenty of international students book university accommodation or a short term let for their first few weeks, then choose a shared house calmly after arriving. Lincoln’s student housing market is well supplied, decent houses are available well beyond the autumn rush, and viewing in person removes most of the risk in one stroke.
If you arrive partway through the letting cycle, do not panic. Landlords with rooms still available are usually keen to fill them, and the spring and summer markets are genuinely workable. Our guide to the letting year shows how the cycle runs.
- Short term let for week one
- View in person
- Spring and summer markets work
What to have ready, and what things cost
Expect to provide your passport and share code, proof of full time student status, your guarantor arrangements and a holding deposit, which is capped by law at one week’s rent. Your tenancy deposit, capped at five weeks’ rent, must be protected in a government approved scheme that will return it at the end of the tenancy minus any properly evidenced deductions, even if you have left the country, so keep your contact details with the scheme up to date.
Open a UK bank account as early as you can, since paying rent by standing order from a UK account is simpler and cheaper than international transfers, and many banks let you start the process before you arrive. As a full time student you will usually be exempt from council tax, but you need to supply an exemption certificate from your university. And if your visa limits your working hours during term, make sure any part time job stays within them.
- Holding deposit capped at one week
- Deposit capped at five weeks
- Open a UK bank account early
- Council tax exemption certificate
A few things that surprise newcomers
Check whether your rent is all inclusive of utility bills or whether the household pays them separately, and if energy is included, ask about the fair use allowance. Contents insurance for your possessions is sometimes included and otherwise worth arranging.
UK houses are heated rather than air conditioned, and older terraces reward learning how the heating controls and ventilation work, since keeping rooms aired is what prevents condensation and mould. Read the tenancy agreement before signing and keep a copy. Both universities in Lincoln offer free contract checking, and the international office has already seen every problem you could possibly bring them.
- Heated, not air conditioned
- Air rooms to stop condensation
- Check what bills are included
With the guarantor question answered early and a healthy suspicion of anything that looks too good to be true, renting here is no harder for you than for anyone else. If you would rather talk it through with a person, ring the office on 01522 589970 or send us a message.
