Moving from Pakistan to the UK: why a relative as guarantor is not the safety net you think, and how to get the deposit money over in time

This assumes your visa is granted. Nothing below touches eligibility — it covers two practical problems that sit between a granted visa and a signed tenancy, both of which take a particular shape when you're moving from Pakistan.

The wider picture of renting with no UK credit file — why your record at home doesn't travel, what referencing looks at, what you can be asked to pay — is already covered in renting in the UK with no credit history. This post doesn't repeat it.

Problem 1: the relative-as-guarantor trap

Britain's Pakistani community is large and concentrated. At the 2021 Census, 1,587,822 people in England and Wales identified their ethnic group as Pakistani — 2.7% of the population (ONS Census 2021, via GOV.UK Ethnicity facts and figures, last updated 21 May 2024). The largest local authority populations were in Birmingham (195,102), Bradford (139,553), Manchester (65,875), Kirklees (54,795), Redbridge (44,000) and Luton (41,143) (ONS Census 2021, population by ethnicity and local authority, published 22 December 2022).

So when an agent asks for a guarantor, the first name on the form is very often a brother, an uncle or a cousin already living here. That's where the trap sits.

The guarantor is referenced, not just named. An agent doesn't accept a guarantor on the tenant's word. Guidance published by the National Residential Landlords Association (16 October 2023) sets out what a suitable guarantor is expected to show: they should be a UK resident, so that legal action can be pursued if needed; ideally a homeowner; with a good credit history; and with sufficient income or assets to cover the debt. Shelter England (last updated 8 June 2026) confirms the landlord or agent usually checks the guarantor's income and credit history, and may say the guarantor must be a homeowner.

Agents and referencing firms set their own income thresholds for guarantors, and they vary. We found no agent-body or referencing-industry publication stating a standard multiple, so this post doesn't give one — ask the agent for their figure before you put anyone forward.

Why relatives get declined. Each of these maps onto one of the checks above:

• They rent their own home. Where an agent wants a homeowner, a relative who rents doesn't meet the test, however long they've lived here.
• Their income is hard to evidence. A relative who is self-employed and can't produce the paperwork an agent asks for to prove income can fail on income alone.
• They're retired. A pension is income, but if it doesn't clear the agent's threshold and there are no assets to set against it, the guarantor doesn't pass on income.
• Their income is too low for the rent. The threshold is set against the rent on your property, not their own circumstances. A relative comfortable on their own salary can still fall short against a family-sized rent.

What to check with the relative before you name them. Have the conversation before the agent does:

• Do they own their home, or rent it?
• Can they show their income in the form an agent will ask for — and does it clear the threshold this agent uses for this rent?
• Is their UK credit history clean?
• Have they read what they'd be signing? Shelter advises a guarantor to read both the tenancy and the guarantor agreement, and to understand when the landlord can ask them for money, what happens in a joint tenancy, and how long the agreement lasts.

What they're actually agreeing to. A guarantor can be asked to pay if the tenant doesn't pay rent on time or causes damage to the property, and how long that lasts depends on what the guarantor agreement says (Shelter England, last updated 8 June 2026). On a joint tenancy the exposure is wider than most relatives expect: the landlord could ask the guarantor to pay if another joint tenant doesn't pay rent, unless the guarantor agreement says they don't have to (Shelter England). NRLA guidance puts it the same way — on a joint tenancy, it's common for the guarantee to apply to all of the rent, not just one person's share. If two families are sharing a house to make the rent work, the relative guaranteeing one of them may be standing behind both. A guarantor can ask for an agreement limited to one tenant's share (Shelter England).

If the relative fails. The two fallbacks people reach for are rent in advance and a paid guarantor service — and only one of them still works.

• Rent in advance — no longer a substitute. Section 8 of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 makes a tenancy term requiring rent in advance of no effect, except for initial rent due during the permitted pre-tenancy period (legislation.gov.uk). It has been in force since 1 May 2026, commenced for specified purposes by S.I. 2026/421. In practice, GOV.UK's guidance for tenants (last updated 7 July 2026) says you shouldn't pay any rent before you sign a tenancy agreement, and after signing a landlord can ask for a maximum of one month's rent before the tenancy start date. Offering months up front to make up for a failed guarantor is no longer something a landlord can take as a condition. What that change removed for newcomers is covered separately.
• A paid guarantor service. Shelter England notes that rent guarantor companies offer guarantor services for a fee, and advises making sure you understand the fees before using one. Some councils and charities also run rent guarantee schemes. Compare terms before you commit, and confirm the agent accepts that route before you pay for it.

Problem 2: getting the deposit money into a UK account in time

The second problem is timing, and it runs on a clock you don't control.

What has to be paid, and when.

• Holding deposit. Capped at one week's rent (Tenant Fees Act 2019, Schedule 1, para 3). Once you've paid it, the default deadline for agreeing the tenancy is 15 days, unless you and the landlord agree a different period in writing; if the landlord returns it, they must do so within 7 days (GOV.UK, Tenant Fees Act 2019: guidance for tenants, last updated 7 July 2026).
• Tenancy deposit. Capped at five weeks' rent where the annual rent is under £50,000, and six weeks' where it's £50,000 or more (Tenant Fees Act 2019, Schedule 1, para 2).
• First month's rent. Payable only after signing, and no more than one month before the start date (GOV.UK guidance for tenants, as above).

All three fall between an accepted offer and the start date, and all three have to clear before you get the keys. An international transfer still in progress when the holding deposit is due doesn't pause the 15-day window.

The Pakistan-specific friction. Money leaving Pakistan goes through your bank under the State Bank of Pakistan's foreign exchange rules, and none of that process runs on the agent's timetable. Before viewings start, ask your bank in Pakistan what documents and approvals apply to sending funds abroad for a rental deposit, and how many working days the transfer takes.

The sequence that works.

• Open the UK account first. The deposit has to land somewhere you control in the UK. Sort the account before anything else in this list.
• Move the money before viewings start — not after you find a house. Get the holding deposit, the tenancy deposit and the first month's rent for the rent band you're looking at into the UK account before you book a single viewing.
• Keep the transfer record. Keep your bank's confirmation of the transfer from Pakistan alongside your UK statement showing the funds arriving. If an agent asks where the money came from, you have both ends of it on paper.

Do this in the same window as the guarantor conversation. A relative who passes referencing and a deposit already sitting in a UK account are the two things that let you say yes the day an offer is accepted.

The guarantor and the deposit transfer are two pieces of a longer sequence that has to close before a tenancy can start. The free scorecard shows where the rest of your move stands and what to line up first.