Where practicable, it is always best when relocating overseas to arrange for temporary accommodation with relatives or friends until such a time when one is able to afford to rent. The UK border agency actually make this compulsoryfor overseas applicants seeking UK residency.
This arrangement gives the migrant time to get acquainted with the system before tying up cash with a landlord.
In the absence of the reprieve that comes with living with others in this manner, the alternative is to rent on a weekly basis with the option to move with ease. The problem with this however, is that incessant change of address in UK always comes back to haunt you when it comes to credit rating
The sort of accommodation where the landlord accepts weekly payments is usually advertised locally on shop windows at off-licence and groceries stores. Sites such as gumtree also feature similar adverts. Landlords letting through these avenues are less likely to be rigid with character referencing and credit status checks which are common requirements when renting from the numerous letting agencies in the country.
Letting agencies have been known to request evidence of pay-slips and/or letter from employer confirming that the would-be tenant is gainfully employed. A new arrival to the country would obviously have difficulty in producing some of these documents hence renting through letting agencies may not be the best option to start with.
If a migrant must rent, however, preparatory to the search for a suitable accommodation there are a few caveats as well as terms that he should be acquainted with.
First is the word Postcode which may be a new vocabulary to most first-time visitors to the United Kingdom but is a keyword as the following notes will clarify.
Originally postcodes were designed to be used by automated machines at the mail sorting centres and are crucial to ensuring that letters are sorted quickly and accurately. In general, a postcode identifies a group of up to 80 addresses. So if you move next door you may well have the same postcode, but if you are moving house to another town then your postcode will definitely change.
As a postcode is specific to an area / locality, establishments and agencies that make decisions based on locality have tapped into its expediency in differentiating districts when making certain decisions.
If for instance an area is known to have a reputation for street crimes this information is linked to the postcode either overtly or covertly.
Recently the London metropolitan police made it possible for residents to enter their postcode on its website to identify how many burglaries, robberies and vehicle crimes have taken place in the streets around their home.
What therefore happens, in reality, is that Credit referencing agencies and Insurance companies, in particular, utilize the postcode of individuals in generating reports covering a host of issues that impact on the cost of the services offered by these establishments to that individual.
To the migrant seeking just a place to rest at the end of the day, the foregoing has little meaning. The absurdity of it all is that the postcodes that migrants drift towards due to lower cost of accommodation often are those with the worst crimes records and consequently residents end up paying more for insurance and face more scrutiny from credit rating agencies.
Asides the high cost of home and car insurance sometimes, the migrant ends up at addresses blacklisted by the credit referencing agencies due to someone at the addresses having defaulted on a loan or bill.
Once a credit referencing agency notes an address against an individual’s name in this manner it sticks for a few years and this adversely affects that individual’s ability to obtain even the simplest of contracts i.e. a mobile phone pay monthly contract.
Similar to the subject of the postcode is the fact that place of residence does have some correlation with jobs available. In this harsh economic climate, the capital is congested and it is getting more difficult to secure a job in the London area. Areas just outside the capital often referred to as Greater London are fast developing and expanding and offer a few more job opportunities.
While encouraging migrants to avoid the perils that come with renting in areas that already have a bad reputation it is undeniable that humans prefer to live amongst their own.
When in a foreign land and this sometimes happens without the group actually realising it.
This proximity of friends and family is important as it fosters community which in turn helps its members settle into the new environment by providing support. Individuals also feel more secure living with people whom they share a common culture. Ultimately the group create a home away from home with shops / businesses and churches akin to what obtains in their home countries.
In a separate article it was highlighted that whilst the United Kingdom is welcoming to people of all races and culture, same cannot be said for an indeterminable number of its citizens. Based on the above reasons it is always a good move for migrants not to stray too far from their group.