You can only turn them off using your browser settings. We use marketing cookies to help us improve the relevancy of advertising campaigns you receive. These also send information to linked Social Media channels. Skip to main content England Scotland. Housing advice Housing advice. Shelter England Housing advice Private renting How to rent with a poor credit history.
How to rent with a poor credit history. Credit checks Landlords and agents must ask your permission if they want to carry out a credit check. It could take time to improve your credit rating. If you need to talk to someone, we'll do our best to help Get help. Print this article Email. Have you had a bad housing experience? Share your story. By sharing your story, you're helping spread the message of what we do so that we can help even more people.
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Marketing On Off. Once a tenant is living in a property, it can take time to get them out if they stop paying their rent.
Therefore, landlords will want to be as sure as possible that eviction can be avoided and that tenants will not end up in arrears. Before a landlord can run a credit check they must get permission , usually in writing, from the prospective tenant.
The information they will receive will not be as comprehensive as the information available to lenders, credit reference agencies and the tenants themselves. It will only include information held on public registers, such as the electoral roll, the Individual Insolvency Register and The Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines. Tenants are not legally required to agree to a credit check, but without one a landlord may not feel confident renting to that individual.
As well as a credit check, a landlord may also ask for references from previous landlords or from employers. They are also legally obliged to make sure that a tenant is allowed to live in the UK, so will ask for some form of identification to confirm this. In some cases, it might be necessary for a tenant to use a guarantor. This is someone who agrees to pay the rent in the event that the tenant cannot. This will often be a parent or relative who has a better credit history or proof of a steady income.
You might be able to get feedback from them, and whether you do or not, you can still check your credit report to get a full picture.
What is a credit rating? In other words, a lender uses your rating to calculate the risk involved with giving you loans, mortgages, or other forms of credit such as mobile phone contracts, rental agreements, and credit cards.
Part of the reason your rating is important is because it affects how easily you can access these valuable services in the future. It can also result in smaller credit limits on your bank accounts, a higher interest rate you pay on your loans. These are:. Landlords can request public record info about your credit report and rating from the rating credit bureaus listed above. Here is a link to the original video. Each landlord has a different requirement for credit scores.
If you are applying to rent with a large established property manager, they will probably have a stricter tenancy agreement when it comes to credit rating. They are also likely to check the electoral roll to look into your background.
Meanwhile, a private landlord may not even request credit checks. Instead, an individual landlord may just be satisfied that you will pay the rent if you name a family member as a guarantor. You may have trouble being accepted as a tenant if the credit records that your landlord can access show that you have had instances of bankruptcy or insolvency.
However, you might be able to come to an agreement despite a bad rating from your credit report. For example, you can list a guarantor as a co-signer or agree to pay a larger deposit when you apply. The exact criteria will depend on the landlord. An important point to remember is that it will be easier to find a compromise when renting privately than through an agency or property office. It is ultimately the decision of the private landlord whether or not they will accept applicants as a tenant.
There is no rule about the minimum rating you need for renting properties. However, having a credit history that shows the following factors may negatively impact your chances of being accepted as a tenant:.
Remember that in many cases, rental companies and agencies will care more about your credit history than private landlords. The fact is that their terms and lease may be stricter, so they might only accept people with top ratings. This is because the agent is providing a professional service to a customer and needs to take the best possible steps to ensure that the landlord receives their income on time.
Landlords really do check tenants to see their credit history. Property managers may also screen you and conduct a tenant credit check. If a landlord or property manager wants to carry out a check, then you will need to sign a document in writing that gives your permission for them to see your credit file. This document may just be the rental application, or it may be a separate form.
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