Rent to income

Rent to income is a simple affordability check comparing the proposed rent with the tenant’s gross income. Landlords, agents and referencing companies often use it to assess whether a tenant is likely to manage the rent without undue hardship or a high risk of rent arrears.

A common approach is to require the tenant’s annual income to be at least 30–40 times the monthly rent, or to use similar percentage based thresholds. Some landlords also look at combined household income or factor in regular benefits when calculating the ratio.

Try our Tenant Rent-to-income Calculator

Under the Renters’ Rights Act and wider consumer and equality law, rent-to-income rules must be applied consistently and fairly. They should not be used as a blunt tool to exclude whole groups, without considering evidence such as guarantors, savings or stable benefit income. For example, benefit claimants, families or older renters. Over-rigid criteria may risk allegations of indirect discrimination.

For professional landlords, rent-to-income is best treated as one part of a wider, reference checks and transparent affordability assessment, alongside credit history, references and known commitments, rather than as the sole reason to refuse an otherwise suitable tenant.