Guide · 5 min read
The documents to have ready before you apply for a rental
Assemble this once. The point is that replying to a listing becomes a two-minute job rather than an evening.
Why this is a speed problem, not an admin problem
The reason to do this before you need it is not tidiness. It is that in a competitive market the viewing list is assembled from early replies, and the thing that slows people down is almost never writing the message, but hunting for a payslip, scanning a passport on a phone, and asking a parent for their income statement at half past ten at night.
Do it once, in one folder, with sensible filenames. Then an alert arriving at 11am turns into a complete application by 11:03.
The folder
Most landlords and agencies in Europe ask for some subset of this.
Photo ID
Passport or national ID card. Scan it properly rather than photographing it at an angle on a duvet.
Proof of income
Three recent payslips, or an employment contract stating salary. Self-employed: last annual accounts or tax assessment, plus a few months of bank statements showing income.
Employer letter
One page confirming role, start date and salary, ideally on letterhead. This does a lot of work if you are new in a job or relocating into one.
Guarantor pack
If you are a student or under the income threshold: the guarantor's ID, their proof of income, and their written agreement to act as guarantor. Ask for this in advance, because it is the item that always takes three days.
Proof of enrolment
Students: a letter or portal export from your university, with dates.
Landlord reference
From your current or previous landlord, confirming you paid on time. Worth requesting when you leave a place rather than years later.
A short written introduction
The message itself, drafted and saved, so you are editing rather than writing. There is a template in the guide linked below.
What you should not send, and when
There is a real tension here: preparation makes you fast, and sending sensitive documents to strangers makes you a target. The resolution is sequencing rather than secrecy.
In a first message, say you have the documents ready. Do not attach them. Send identity and income documents once you have a viewing arranged, or at minimum once you have verified who you are dealing with, whether that is a real agency with an address, or a landlord you have met.
Never send a copy of your passport, bank details or a signed form to someone who has not shown you the property and cannot be independently identified. And never send money before a viewing and a signed contract, for any reason and under any label, whether holding deposit, viewing fee or reservation. That single rule defeats most rental fraud, and the scams guide below covers the rest of the pattern.
A practical middle ground people use: watermark scans with the property address and the date, and redact the machine-readable strip on passport copies. It does not stop a determined fraudster, but it makes a copied document much less useful elsewhere.
Common questions
How much income do I need?
The common informal rule across much of Europe is gross monthly income of three to four times the rent, applied fairly strictly by agencies and more loosely by private landlords. Where you fall short, a guarantor is the standard answer.
Can I use a guarantor from another country?
Sometimes, and it is harder. Some landlords and most agencies want a domestic guarantor, and some accept a larger deposit instead. Ask early rather than discovering it after a viewing.
Is it safe to send payslips to a landlord?
To a verified agency or a landlord you have met, generally yes, it is a standard part of renting. To an unverified person on a marketplace listing, no. Sequence it: viewing first, documents second.
What if I have no rental history?
Say so plainly and compensate with the other evidence, such as an employer letter, a guarantor, and an offer of a longer initial payment where you are comfortable with it. Landlords worry about ability to pay, not about your CV.
Setting up alerts for the sites in this guide
Keep reading
Be told before everyone else is
Notifio watches your rental searches every 30 seconds and emails you the moment a listing appears. £20 once, Mac and Windows, no subscription.