At LiFE Residential, we understand the rental process can be a demanding one, with lots of paperwork to provide and checks to pass. We bet you can't wait to get settled in your new home. To help make your rental experience with us as stress-free and as efficient as possible, read our guide to what you can expect when choosing to rent with LiFE.

After browsing tons of properties on property portals and our website, you've got your eyes set on the one. Together with one of our local property consultants, you went to see it and... it's a match. We're thrilled we've found the property that is right for you!

Here's what will happen upon acceptance of your offer by the landlord:

1. The landlord will sign an offer letter to confirm in writing that they wish to proceed with your offer.

2. Once this offer letter is signed, you will receive an email from Goodlord, our tenant onboarding platform, inviting you to sign up and proceed to pay the reservation fee, which is 1 week's rent.

3. Once the property is reserved, Goodlord will invite you to upload your references. References required include:  

•  Employer's reference: verifies your contractual annual income/hours and job title/status; 
•  Landlord’s reference: not applicable for overseas landlords, however full details must still be supplied; 
•  Credit check:we are looking here for any adverse credit; things such as CCJ's or bankruptcy. If you think you have any of these please inform us at your earliest opportunity.
• 6 months’ of UK bank statements: these need to be uploaded within 24 hours of receiving the email.We analyse all prospective tenant bank statements to get secondary confirmation of salary being paid in. Where applicable to check for current rental payments being made on time, and to check you are living within you rmenas and are in a financial positiont o take on the property. It also servse as an additional confirmation of current address.
•  ID & visa, if applicable;

3. Once your documents are submitted on Goodlord, we await the response from your referees to complete the referencing process. On average, this part of the process will take between 3-5 working days, but may take longer if we are still awaiting information from your referees.You can help speed up the process by asking your referees to respond quickly.

Referees receive an automatic link to complete the referencing process: the sooner references are submitted, the sooner the referencing process is complete. We will be in contact if there is any outstanding information required.

4. In the meantime, whilst you're waiting for referencing to complete, we also must check you have the right to rent in the UK, as required by government legislation. For this, we need to take a copy of your original passport (or visa, if applicable.) Online copies are not accepted and the check must be done in person, in one of our branches.

To complete the Right for Rent check, contact your consultant who can book you in at a time and branch convenient for you. The branch doesn't have to be the nearest one to your chosen property, it can be any one of our London offices.

5. Once referencing is complete, you will receive a link via Goodlord again to sign the tenancy agreement and pay the move-in monies. Where possible, move-in monies should be paid 7 working days before your move-in date using Goodlord. The amount will also be detailed in Goodlord. If you are transferring money from abroad you may want to start organising this ASAP, as it can take time to move money from one country to another.

Move-in monies include:

• 1 month's rent;
• Security deposit - 5 weeks of rent;
• Reservation fee you paid at the beginning of the process is subtracted from this amount.

Goodlord must have received the monies before keys are handed over to you. Goodlord then transfers these funds to LiFE Residential.

5. Book your check-in at the property with a LiFE Residential consultant, where keys will be handed over to you and we'll show you around your property and show you how the main things work and where things such as the concierge or waste disposal are located.

Your consultant is on hand to help on move-in day and to answer any questions you have about your new home. This could include showing you how to use certain appliances, checking the hot water works and checking everything works as it should.

6. You're all moved in! Enjoy your new home!

Thank you for choosing to rent with LiFE.