Proving Income for Hong Kong Rentals: 4 Key Methods

In Hong Kong, landlords are most concerned about two things: whether rent will be paid, and whether they will encounter a "rental nightmare." For traditional salaried individuals, an automatic payroll slip is often sufficient; but for self-employed individuals, with irregular income, landlords find it difficult to assess your repayment ability, so they tend to be more cautious.

Below are the 4 most common and widely accepted alternative proof methods currently.

1. The Gold Standard: Inland Revenue Department's "Notice of Assessment"

Acceptability: ★★★★★

This is one of the most credible income documents in Hong Kong. Since falsifying tax returns is a criminal offense, landlords generally place high trust in this document.

The "Assessable Income" on the tax notice directly reflects your annual earning capacity, whether you run an online store, tutor, work as a photographer, or operate a company, it is applicable.

2. Cash Flow Proof: Bank Monthly Statements

Acceptability: ★★★★☆

For those without a fixed monthly salary, "consistent cash flow" is more important than a single amount.

Recommended to provide: Bank monthly statements from your main account for the last 3 to 6 months.

• Use annotations to show the source of monthly income deposits (such as client transfers, platform settlements).
• If you have a company account, you can regularly transfer a salary to your personal account each month.

3. Business Identity Proof: Business Registration Certificate (BR)

Acceptability: ★★★☆☆

The purpose of this document is not to prove how much you earn, but to prove that you "have a business identity" and a stable way of generating income.

Can be combined with documents:

• Client or company service contracts
• Professional qualification certificates

4. Financial Strength Demonstration: Prepaid Rent

Acceptability: ★★★★★ (Risk Elimination Type)

If you have just started a business and your tax notice and cash flow are not ideal, you can proactively propose: paying 6 months or 12 months of rent in one lump sum.

This is one of the most common solutions in the Hong Kong market, which can significantly reduce landlords' concerns about unpaid rent and can be used as a bargaining chip (such as requesting a rent reduction or waiving some miscellaneous fees).

Risk Warning: Before prepaying multiple months of rent, you must ensure:

• A formal lease has been signed
• The stamping procedure has been completed to avoid unnecessary risks due to the contract lacking evidential validity.

Privacy Protection

According to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (PCPD) guidelines:

✔ You have the right to redact irrelevant information

When providing bank monthly statements, you can redact:

• Personal spending records
• Credit card repayments, retaining only: account balance and income deposit records.

✔ Restricted Use

Landlords or agents may only use the information to assess rental applications and should not retain it indefinitely after the transaction is completed.