Tenant Referencing & Affordability Guidelines

To secure a property with Bee City Living, all applicants must pass our standard tenant referencing process. This is a routine procedure handled by an independent referencing agency to verify identity, employment, income, and past residential history.

To help you understand if you qualify before you apply, please review our official income thresholds and requirements below.

💼 Employment & Income Thresholds

As a general guideline, tenants in employment are required to have a cumulative provable take-home income of at least three times (3x) their share of the monthly rent.

🔍 A Note on Our Standards: You may notice that our affordability threshold is slightly higher than some other agencies. In the current rental market, landlords, lenders, and rent-protection insurance providers are commonly increasing their financial requirements across the UK. To protect both our residents from financial strain and our landlords' investments, we align our criteria with these premium insurance standards.

Depending on your income, your application will fall into one of three categories:

Income is 3x the rent or higher: Your application meets our standard income criteria.
Income is between 2.5x and 3x the rent: Your application is borderline. You will be requested to nominate a supporting UK-based guarantor.
Income is below 2.5x the rent: The application does not meet our standard referencing or insurance criteria. You will be required to provide a qualified UK guarantor to proceed.
📈 Bonus & Commission Note: If a significant portion of your income relies on commission or bonuses, referencing agencies will typically look for an average across your last 6 months of pay slips to factor this into your overall affordability score.

🛡️ What If I Am a Student or Do Not Meet the Income Criteria?

If you are a student, or if your employment income falls below the 3x threshold, you cannot proceed on your income alone. To secure the tenancy, your application must be backed by a qualified UK-based guarantor.

👉 Click Here to Read Our Full UK Guarantor Guide & Criteria

Our dedicated guarantor page explains exactly who can act as a guarantor, the homeownership and income rules they must meet, and how their joint legal liability works.

📝 What Documents & Information Will I Need to Provide?

During the online application stage, the independent referencing team will request that you upload documents and submit contact details directly through their secure portal. Please prepare the following:

1. ⚖️ Right to Rent Verification

By law, we must check that all occupiers aged 18 or over have a legal right to reside in the UK before a tenancy can begin. You will need to upload a valid Passport or, for non-UK citizens, an official GOV.UK share code to verify your visa or immigration status.

👉 Click Here to Read Our Full Right to Rent Guide

2. 🏠 Proof of Residence

You will need to upload a document to confirm your current address. This is typically a utility bill (gas, electricity, or water), a council tax bill, or a personal bank statement issued within the last 3 months.

3. 💰 Proof of Income

To verify your affordability, you will need to upload digital copies of:

Your last 3 to 6 months of consecutive personal bank statements.
Your last 3 to 6 months of consecutive, official pay slips.

4. 🏢 Employment Reference Details

You will be invited to provide the contact information (name and official business email address) for your company's HR department, payroll team, or line manager. The referencing agency will use this to contact them directly and confirm your job title, base salary, and contract type.

5. 🏠 Previous Landlord Reference Details

Similarly, the portal will invite you to provide the contact details for your current or most recent landlord or letting agency. The system will reach out to them directly to confirm that your rent was consistently paid on time and that the property was well-maintained during your stay.

Have a unique financial situation?

We understand that income structures can sometimes be complicated (such as being self-employed, using student stipends, or starting a new job with a future salary increase notice). If you have further information or written job offers you'd like us to consider, please reach out to our applications team!

📧 Email: hello@beecityliving.co.uk
📞 Phone: 0161 211 3908