Guarantor requirement — as a foreigner with no local credit history, how does this even work?

This trips up almost every new arrival with no local network, so you're far from alone. The usual workaround is a guarantor company — a commercial service that acts as your guarantor for a fee instead of a person vouching for you personally. It's a genuinely common, unremarkable path for foreigners specifically, not a workaround of last resort. Some employers also offer to guarantee housing for relocating staff, worth asking HR about directly.

Costs and how common this is varies quite a bit by country — check the Housing section of your destination's guide, several of the country guides cover this exact setup.

Found a smaller subset of listings specifically from landlords already used to renting to newcomers. Worth seeking those out directly rather than fighting every single listing that wants a local guarantor.

Does paying several months upfront ever substitute for a guarantor in practice, or is that mostly a myth?

Used a paid guarantor service — costs a fee, but it solved the immediate problem when I genuinely knew nobody locally yet.

Same wall, following closely.

Worked for me — one landlord accepted three months upfront instead of a guarantor. Not guaranteed everywhere, but worth asking directly rather than assuming no.

My employer acted as guarantor as part of the relocation package — worth asking directly, it wasn’t advertised as an option until I brought it up myself.

Following, wish I’d thought to ask my own employer about this before signing.

A larger upfront deposit, beyond the standard amount, worked as a substitute for a guarantor in my case. Cost more immediately, solved the problem instantly.

Did anyone find student-style guarantor insurance products work for non-students too, or is that route genuinely closed to us?