Hey everyone, I have a question, so basically my last place I rented for 2.5 years I got evicted from (due to landlord selling up) so I’m back at square one. I’ve managed to find a place thru a friend but it’s not working for me there (work wise) , so I’m trying to get back to my old work area, but no agency’s will touch me , due to no proof of income , has anyone else managed to get a apartment on a monthly basis and how did you do it? The money isn’t the issue but it’s the proof of income as I don’t use my bank atall,
I don’t want to work from a day room, mainly cause I have a lot of things I can’t take home (don’t want my kids seeing dildos / lingerie / condoms )
Any advice would be amazing on how people potentially get apartments on rent ,

If you've been effectively living "off grid" and not using banks at all or declaring your income and paying tax, then you've got very few options.

Do you have enough cash on hand to rent 6 months up front?  A big wad of cash can make many private landlords forego the official checks, especially if you can supply a reference from your previous landlord. You still might be able to find one who is willing to rent month to month for cash and no questions asked, but you're going to have to ask a hell of a lot of people in all probability, and you might end up in a situation where you won't have the legal protection of a tenancy agreement.

I would strongly advise that going forward you start using a bank account for your income as the days of being able to rent without proof are really behind us now.

Amy : sorry I’m crap at knowing how to reply , but yes I’ve only ever taking cash for this line of work, so last landlord took cash off me for 2.5yrs, I didn’t put anything in my bank due to being on  careers benefits (looking after a friends son whilst she was at work thru the day) , so I’ve never used my bank, only ever the odd occasional £300 / £400 here and there . My house is a mortgage but in husbands name and I pay cash with that. Everything I do is cash. So trying to find a new apartment when I have no proof of income in proving very hard.
Ref to other reply : I offered 6mths rent up front and deposit to a agency and got fobbed off , told me to send a email in , which I had a week before, still not had a reply, but I could tell the guy wasn’t interested.
And day rate rooms I don’t really want to be paying , as I have a family that don’t know my job, which means I have alot of “stock” (work related) 😂 that I can’t take home, so if I got a day rate room I’d need it on a monthly basis , which is on average 1.5k upwards a month , and that’s at around the going price in my area

I've only ever accepted cash too - that doesn't mean I don't have proof of income because the cash goes in the bank; how do you pay your household bills without using a bank account? Or do the benefits you're claming cover them?

I keep written records of bookings so I know how much I've earned, and I declare these earnings with whatever it cost me to earn them on my tax return - that's how self employment works (and my rent is more than double the cost of the day rate rooms you mention). Do you have a diary so you know how much you've earned? If so you can start to rebuild things; it's not compulsory to bank your earnings provided you declare it, after all.

If you're not prepared to work legitimately and pay your share, then I'd start looking on AW as oleyoleyWG suggested, and there's also the Seeking/Offering section here. Unfortunately as VC has already said, you've pretty much dumped your options.

Twenty years ago it was difficult to pay bills without a bank account, I had to for a while (my pay went into a family member account for 6 weeks until I could see up an account again), at the time I was not a sex worker all my wages came electronically from a big employer so bank account essential. Even paying council tax was difficult, they really did not want cash.

I cannot imagine many if any landlords accepting cash these days, and I would guess offering cash to most letting agencies will stand out.

OK so you do have a bank account - could you start using a serviced apartment (or a selection of them) for a few days a month for now, start paying your cash into your bank from now on, and get 6 months worth of bank statements as proof of income, then start applying for longer lets after that?

You might also find a serviced apartment which will negotiate a long-term let for a lower rate than daily, and this can sometimes even work out cheaper as all utilities, internet, etc is included and no need to pay council tax.

I would really encourage you to start declaring your earnings and paying tax - you're going to really damage your pension eligibility otherwise and make life very difficult for yourself.

I was under the impression that certain NI contributions are paid for some people whilst on benefit, doesn't make not declaring right but it's how people who are eligible, do claim benefit for long periods go on to receive state pension.

OK so you do have a bank account - could you start using a serviced apartment (or a selection of them) for a few days a month for now, start paying your cash into your bank from now on, and get 6 months worth of bank statements as proof of income, then start applying for longer lets after that?

You might also find a serviced apartment which will negotiate a long-term let for a lower rate than daily, and this can sometimes even work out cheaper as all utilities, internet, etc is included and no need to pay council tax.

Definitely! In a few months you can make some real headway and as VC says, some serviced apartments offer long term lets at a discounted rate (there are quite a few near me for the City workers who travel in midweek for work and go home at the weekends).

The tax year ends next week, so if you try to gather up what you can even if it's just scraps you'll be able to get something together which will cover you for the year from April 2022-2023; you can call the HMRC helpline and ask if you're not sure how

Will your old landlord give you a reference?