New Tenants Application (1st ones) have a CCJ against their name

barneybeagle

Hello everyone,

I've got a house up for let for the first time and I have a young couple with a young child who both work and have put in an application. The agency has vetted them and everything has came back OK apart from a CCJ that has showed up from April 2010 which apparently they knew nothing about and are devastated.

I don't know too much about CCJs but surely they should know if they had one or not or is it something that could have easily been left on record when they have paid whatever debt they may have had previously (I don't know, I'm guessing)?

As I say this is the first time I have had the house up for rent so I am being cautious. The agency say they are devastated that this is still on record as their credit rating, etc is OK.

Any advice on my dilemma would be greatly appreciated as I'm a bit unsure how to proceed with this one.

Thanks
bb

BitterAndTwisted

barneybeagle wrote: »

Is it something that could have easily been left on record when they have paid whatever debt they may have had previously (I don't know, I'm guessing)?

No, I don't think that's possible. From what I understand if you're taken to court for non-payment you still have an opportunity to settle immediately without having the CCJ on your credit-record.

The only way I can think of how people could acquire a CCJ without knowing about it would be if they are constantly on the move and their mail never successfully catches up with them. The idea of that would strike fear into my heart if I were a landlord.

I think you should consider finding other tenants. The last thing you need as a new landlord is problematic tenants falling into arrears and it takes six months to evict them.

DVardysShadow

barneybeagle wrote: »

... I don't know too much about CCJs but surely they should know if they had one or not or is it something that could have easily been left on record when they have paid whatever debt they may have had previously (I don't know, I'm guessing)?

These forums are littered with cases of people who get a CCJ registered against them without their knowledge - probably at least weekly. There are several scenarios in which this is discovered - often when applying for a mortgage

As B&T indicates, it generally arises as a result of moving - but it only takes one move and the case to be brought after mail redirection has failed or expired. Bear in mind that in this scenario, there is no hearing because the defendant does not get the chance to put in a defence or deal with the debt.

Those cases where no defence is entered are dealt with administratively at the Bulk Processing centre in Northampton. I suspect this means that a Judge never sees the case, it is decided by a clerk under the notional supervision of a judge somewhere in the building.

Often, these cases are brought some years after a contract which has been cancelled either due to a dispute or naturally due to moving home and they arise as much as anything from incompetence and malice on the part of the creditor.

Another scenario is that they could have had the CCJ as the outcome of an honest dispute which they lost in court. In itself, this should never be held against anyone and the system allows payment to be made in 28 days or a month, without the CCJ being entered on the credit record. Payment could have been made but not recorded correctly.

In your position, I would be somewhat dubious about these people, but equally I would recognise that by turning them down, I could be turning down good tenants and I could still pick up tenants with clean credit records who had played the system against previous Landlords and left a trail of debts on which Landlords ahd decided to cut their losses by not taking the matter to court.

I suggest you interview them and ask about how this CCJ has arisen - also get references from previous Landlords. And then make your decision.

oldone_2

A CCJ is only part of the picture. I would have a chat with the couple. What is the CCJ for?. CCJ's can appear on your credit file without you knowing, the system for informing you is not perfect. Listen to their explanation. Are they currently renting, if so what does the present landlord say.

After talking to them use your judgement. It is often easy to spot a bad 'un'

Edit; I posted the above at the same time as DVardysShadow . It seems we are offering the same advice.

geoffky

i bet they will turn out to be the best tenants you will ever have..

MegaMiniMouse

If the CCJ is 'on the record', then surely it is not difficult to obtain full details?

MMM

G_M

A CCJ would ring alarm bells for me.
The fact they don't know about it (or claim so) would ring even more.

What will happen when they owe you money, and you take them to court?

The reason for credit checks is to .....check reliabilitity of potential tenant. Why waste money on the check if you're going to ignore the result?

Angela_D_3

I was told 30% of the Northampton online claims go straight to judgement without the other party even knowing somebody is taking them to court.
You could just ask for a bigger deposit because of their credit history.

barneybeagle

Hello everyone,

Thanks to all of the responses which have proved very helpful. I put my concerns back to the Agency and received the following reply:

"The applicants are looking into the CCJ. They've done their own credit report and that states it is from their previous address which is why they havent had any correspondance relating to it.

We do take a deposit from the tenants, which is equal to one months rent.

In this situation I dont see the CCJ being a problem. Both tenants work as retentions advisors and their salaries combined more than cover the rent. They also have a guarantor.

We have received the reference back from their landlord and it states that the tenants have kept up with their monthly payments, the property is in good condition and they would let to them in the future."

Although I haven't confirmed I will go ahead with the application yet, I think I'm more inclined to now.

If anyone has anymore thoughts then I'd appreciate them.

Cheers
bb

Emmzi

I would find out what the CCJ is and how much it is for; and whether it is settled. It may be a hundred quid, it may be ten thousand...

The agency will encourage you to take a tennant so they can do less work for their fee. They aren't exactly unbiased.

Watalie

I would say don't write them off without consideration. I actually posted on this issue a few days ago.

I have a CCJ, it's a debt my ex ran up in my name. I didn't know about it until it had been on my credit file for some time. The paperwork (from Northampton) went to my old address. So I did not get a chance to settle it within the 28 days. I did settle after 4 months (as soon as I realised it was there) - its for the princely sum of £196. It has ruined my credit profile. I have struggled to get credit while paying off debts that were not mine.

It's due to fall off my report in December this year.... finally.

Please don't write the prospective tennants off. There maybe a good explaination.