Moving to the UK from Nigeria with your family: rent, schools and the first month

Renting without a UK credit file, after 1 May

The old route was simple and expensive: a family with no UK credit history offered six or twelve months' rent in advance, the landlord took it, and the referencing problem went away. The Renters' Rights Act closed that route for new tenancies in England. A landlord cannot ask for, encourage or accept any rent before the tenancy agreement is signed, and between signing and the start date can require at most one month's rent. A term in the agreement that provides for rent to be paid further in advance is of no effect.

What is left is referencing, which runs against UK income and a UK credit file you do not yet have. The routes that remain are a UK-based guarantor who passes the agent's own check, an employer letter that the agent will accept, and landlords who will take a case on its merits. None of those is certain, and each takes time. The full sequence is in our guide to renting in the UK with no credit history; what else changed on 1 May is in our guide to the Renters' Rights Act for newcomers.

Two more rules tell you who to walk away from. A holding deposit, which takes a property off the market while you are referenced, is capped at one week's rent and is refundable. The tenancy deposit is capped at five weeks' rent where the annual rent is under £50,000, six weeks at £50,000 or more. Those are the only sums anyone can lawfully ask for before the keys, and none of them is due before you have seen the property. An agent or landlord asking for money to view, or for several months up front, is either behind the law or not a landlord at all.

The law also now says a landlord cannot refuse to let to you because you have children. It does not stop a landlord preferring another applicant for a reason they can state, but "no children" is no longer a lawful answer.

As an illustration only, on a rent of £1,300 a month: the holding deposit is up to £300, the deposit up to £1,500, and the first month £1,300. Roughly £2,800 moves between the offer and the keys, usually within a fortnight, and it moves from a UK account. Open the account before the viewings start.

Where your children land, and the early finisher

In England a child is placed in the year group set by their age on 31 August, and the class they were in at home does not come into it: 4 on that date starts Reception in September, 10 starts Year 6, 15 starts Year 11. The full rule is in our guide to UK school year groups.

For a Nigerian family the calendar is kinder than for most. Both systems run September to July, so a summer move puts a child into the right year on the first day of term with nothing missed on either side. The ladders also line up age for age on paper: JSS 1 at 12 is Year 7, JSS 3 at 14 is Year 10, SSS 1 at 15 is Year 11. The complication is that official entry to Primary 1 is at six and in practice many children start earlier, so a Nigerian pupil is commonly a year ahead of the English child the same age, and finishes school with WASSCE at 15, 16 or 17 while the English pupil of 16 still has two years of sixth form ahead.

Two worked examples. A girl born on 3 February 2012 is in JSS 3 and arrives in August 2026. On 31 August 2026 she is 14, so she starts Year 10 in September: the first year of a two-year GCSE course, with option subjects chosen at the start. That is the best possible moment to arrive in secondary school, and twelve months later it would be the worst, because she would join Year 11 half-way through courses already running.

A boy born on 10 June 2010 sat WASSCE in May 2026 at 15 and arrives with his family in August. On 31 August 2026 he is 16, so his year group is Year 12. He has finished school at home; England sees his age. WASSCE alone is usually treated as below A-level standard, so the choice is a university foundation year or starting Year 12 and taking A Levels. Neither is automatically better: the foundation year keeps momentum for a pupil who is clearly university-bound and set on a course; Year 12 costs a year but exits with qualifications recognised everywhere and gives a 16-year-old time to settle. For most pupils in this position our lean is towards Year 12, and it is the decision to settle before you pick an area.

Outside the normal admissions round you apply through the council or the school, against where you live, and the admission authority must tell you the outcome in writing within 15 school days. Oversubscribed schools decide places on published criteria, and distance from home or a catchment area is almost always among them. So the year group is worked out first, the area is chosen for the school, and the tenancy is signed before the application goes in. The school conversation about a 16-year-old's route happens before any of that.

The first month, in order

The order matters more than the speed. First, the Right to Rent share code from your immigration status, which an agent must check before any tenancy. It is valid for 90 days from the day you generate it, so generate it when the viewings start, not weeks before you fly and not after the first offer. Second, viewings, in person or by video with someone you trust in the room. Third, the holding deposit, one week's rent, which starts referencing. Fourth, referencing itself: the guarantor or the employer letter, agreed with the agent before you pay the holding deposit, not after. Fifth, the tenancy agreement, and only then the first month's rent and the deposit. Sixth, the keys, which give you an address. Seventh, the school application, which needs that address, and the council tax account and GP registration that go with it.

The two things done out of order most often are the share code, left until an agent asks, and the school application, attempted from a hotel without an address. Each costs a week at the point you can least afford one.

Where the general rule stops

Whether a given agent will accept your employer's letter in place of a UK credit file; whether a guarantor abroad is any use, which it usually is not; whether a sixth form will take a 16-year-old on WASSCE and GCE O Levels, and into which subjects; whether a child who started Primary 1 at four belongs with their age group or needs a conversation about the year below: these are judgements about your family, not rules about the system. The rent and deposit rules on this page apply to private tenancies in England only; Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own.

How Moovedin can help

The free scorecard takes a few minutes and shows which of these walls your family will hit and in what order. It is yours to keep. The Blueprint is a written plan of your whole move, drawn up personally by Matthew, with a schooling section for each child; its price is £99, and during launch it is free to claim from your scorecard result. Where a 16-year-old's route or a sixth-form entry becomes a judgement call, Adrian's schools call is 45 minutes with a school senior leader for £79. Whichever you choose, have the share code generated and the guarantor question answered before you book a single viewing. Those are the two things an agent will ask in the first five minutes.

Frequently asked questions

Can I still pay six months' rent up front to get a flat?

Not for a new tenancy in England. Since 1 May 2026 a landlord cannot take any rent before you sign and cannot require more than one month in advance after it. A clause asking for more has no legal effect, and a landlord asking for it is behind the law.

What can a landlord or agent lawfully ask me to pay before I get the keys?

A refundable holding deposit of up to one week's rent once you make an offer, then, after signing, a deposit of up to five weeks' rent (six where the annual rent is £50,000 or more) and the first month's rent. Nothing is due before you have viewed the property.

Can a landlord turn us down because we have children?

No. Since 1 May 2026 a landlord cannot refuse to rent to a tenant because they have children, or because they are on benefits.

My son has finished SSS 3 and has his WASSCE. Which year is he in?

The year group for his age on 31 August. At 16 that is Year 12, the first year of sixth form. WASSCE alone is usually below A-level standard, so the choice is a foundation year or two years of A Levels from Year 12; for most pupils we lean towards Year 12.

Which UK year is JSS 3?

Usually Year 10, because a child in JSS 3 is normally 14 on 31 August. A child who is already 15 by then goes into Year 11. Work it from the birthday, not the class.

If you are moving from Nigeria with your family and an agent has already asked for six months up front, the free scorecard shows what the law now says and what to do next.