No Earned Income = 6 Month Prepaid Lease?

October 29, 2024 10:52 AM

The last time I rented an apartment, I didn't have a job but could show I had reasonable savings, which my landlord was fine with. This time around, two places so far have said I'd need a prepaid lease: 6 months rent up front. On one hand I'm ultimately going to pay that anyway, but on the other, it's a decent whack to cough up in one go. Is this a normal request for renters without jobs, or maybe I should I hold out for another landlord like my last one?
posted by my log does not judge to Work & Money (10 answers total)

Can you ask for a small discount in the amount of your rent then?

Since you're paying it all in advance it will be they who can earn interest on the money, and not you.

With most things that can be paid for monthly but are paid up front, there is at least a nominal discount.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 11:16 AM on October 29

If you do wind up going this way, I would absolutely insist on a receipt including address, unit number, specific months/dates that were prepaid by this. Depending on where you live, housing may be in such short supply, landlords know they can basically set whatever terms they want, and someone is gonna take it.
posted by xedrik at 11:31 AM on October 29

My last landlord got a little spooked when I didn't have guaranteed income (yet) so I pre-emptively offered to pay three month's rent up front, though we framed it as two month's security deposit plus first month's rent.
posted by lapis at 11:47 AM on October 29

This would be illegal in my jurisdiction, but then again, just deciding to not rent to you would not be.
posted by jacquilynne at 12:54 PM on October 29

Yeah this is likely a jurisdiction and housing market specific question. I'm in Ontario and it's illegal for a landlord to ask for all the rent up front but if you're unemployed that also means they likely won't rent to you in the first place. Even with the 6 months up front a prudent landlord wouldn't rent to you over here because what happens when the 6 months end and you decide not to leave or pay any more rent? It would probably take 1+ years to go through the Landlord and Tenant Board to get an eviction order against you and they're not going to have high hopes of getting the missing rent back.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 1:20 PM on October 29

We got a market rate rental from a srs management company while unemployed because we showed them excellent credit references and bank statements with extremely adequate balances. (We'd just sold a house and moved cities.) So it's possible even in Ontario. You just have to find someone willing to take the chance and make it clear it's no chance at all.
posted by seanmpuckett at 5:19 PM on October 29

They can't discriminate on the basis of income source so if your monthly income from investment interest is adequate, you could make the case that way. Most of the time they ask for income of 2.5-3x rent, though, not just the rent amount itself.
posted by slidell at 5:36 PM on October 29

At the risk of offending you, how sure are you that these are legitimate listings / landlords? Where I live, this 6 months up front arrangement would likely end up being extremely scammy on some level. Unfortunately housing scams are drastically on the rise in my area, and I’ve heard they’re becoming more common across the board. Ignore if you’ve already vetted them but doesn’t hurt to double check the veracity of the listings.
posted by seemoorglass at 6:43 PM on October 29

@seemoorglass - oh, for sure that's a consideration. I am painfully aware that the person asking me for $10K up front is just a dude texting from a phone # associated with a Rentler profile that anyone could throw together.
posted by my log does not judge at 7:22 PM on October 29

I would definitely not enter into an arrangement like that with a private landlord. In the case of an agent, they have to comply with legal measures around holding money in advance, but some dude with a mobile phone can just take your money and deny everything.
posted by dg at 11:18 PM on October 29