Advice from landlords needed! Rental credit checks + CCJ = No,no??

Kayj24

Hi

Looking to move out of the parents June time. After running my credit report the other night. Iv discovered I have a CCJ from 2007 (hopefully should drop off next year being the 6th year) and two defaults (one settled and one I had no idea about) and basicaly this is resulting in a poor credit check from Experian. The plan is paying off the majority of the outstanding amounts (only little amounts really) apart from ones Im querying before June.

Between me and my boyfriend we earn roughly 35k. My boyfriend has been on a tenancy agreement before so has a good record of paying rent plus a good credit reference. We would both have good references from our employers and I have a very good relationship with my bank and would not struggle to pay the rent each month.

But my main question is when it comes to applying for rental property will the letting agency and landlord just see a CCJ and be a straight no or will he/she take everything into consideration?

I understand ovbiously if a landlord is met with the situation of CCJ or no CCJ then no CCJ will win everytime. Im really after a landlords point of view here as neither of us have a gurantor, both our parents rent.

Please help!

BitterAndTwisted

That CCJ could totally scupper your plans. That's what it's meant to do as it's an incontrovertible indicator that you haven't run your financial affairs properly in the past. We could all decide to take the position that the past is no guarantee of the future but many landlords aren't willing to be that flexible.

One alternative solution could be for your boyfriend to take on a tenancy is his name only with you as an accepted occupier. This gives you no rights because you won't be a tenant but could be a way round anyone seeing that nasty CCJ on your credit-report

Kayj24

Not really what I wanted to hear but it was what I was expecting I was hoping that raising the CCJ before any credit checks might of worked in my favour some how along with proof of salary etc.

Would landlords and letting agencies be willing to accept just his name on the tenancy for a year when they know I will be living there? Just wondering if this would then give the landlord more rights and maybe be a prefered option to having a couple on the tenancy.

The overall plan would then be to add me to the tenancy as soon as the CCJ drops off.

G_M

Depends on the landlord. It would prevent me renting to you, but LLs are all different.

Can you offer a guarantor?

Kayj24

Nope no guarantor both our parents are also renters and to be honest despite having a CCJ I'm financially better then them (just cant get credit from anyone apart from the bank).

So personally from your point of a view a CCJ would make u stay well clear despite everything else being pretty much perfect?

BitterAndTwisted

A CCJ is a filthy great black mark and few landlords would be willing to either overlook it or accept that you're a reformed character. Those defaults suggest not. Your credit-record is one of the most important things that they make decision with. If you're looking to take on a tenancy there's no point in not being totally upfront about it as they will find out anyway. You could offer copies of your payslips and bank-statements but that will not reveal whether you've got whacking-great commitments that you haven't defaulted on yet.

"Would landlords and letting agencies be willing to accept just his name on the tenancy for a year when they know I will be living there? Just wondering if this would then give the landlord more rights and maybe be a prefereed option to having a couple on the tenancy."

The main disadvantage of your boyfriend taking on a tenancy on his own is that he will have to be able to prove that he can afford to make the rent-payments on his own as the landlord would have no legal means to extract it from you. And no, it does not give the landlord different rights or more of them, just that you would have fewer. Or none, really.

Kayj24

Proving hes capable of paying the rent wouldn't be a problem we both take home double the amount of rent each. Just seems like a heavy burden to put on him but seems the only option. I have no problems in a landlord looking at my full credit report as the bad bits all relate to 5yrs ago (before I knew about credit reports and wanted to be an accountant) just dont want to end up keep paying ridiculous agent fees to be told what i already know.....its safe to say I've learnt my lesson and I never want any credit again

BitterAndTwisted

In which case you need to be totally upfront with any letting-agent you see. Tel them the absolute unvarnished truth and ask them whether you stand any chance whatsoever before you hand over any fees.

"Proving he's capable of paying the rent wouldn't be a problem: we both take home double the amount of rent each."

You appear to have missed my point: if your b/f applies for a place and takes a tenancy on his own your earnings would not be taken into account as there would be no means by which to ensure payment is made by you. You'd also have no security of tenure.

Perhaps an alternative might be to find a landlord to rent to you privately without going through a letting-agent but all sensible landlords take great care in ensuring they do credit-checks and take up references.

People with unsatisfactory backgrounds sometimes have success by offering a landlord six months rent in advance.

agrinnall

How did you come to 'discover' that you have a CCJ? Were you not aware of it before you checked or is it just that you didn't know it would be on your credit record? If it was issued without you knowing there may be a possibility (probably small after this time) of getting it set aside, but it would need someone with a far greater knowledge of the law than me to provide proper information on that.

ognum

If you are financially secure, be up front about the CCJ and if you can offer to pay in advance, some landlords would be swayed by honesty and the ability to pay 6 months rent in advance.

DVardysShadow

agrinnall wrote: »

How did you come to 'discover' that you have a CCJ? Were you not aware of it before you checked or is it just that you didn't know it would be on your credit record? If it was issued without you knowing there may be a possibility (probably small after this time) of getting it set aside, but it would need someone with a far greater knowledge of the law than me to provide proper information on that.

It is indeed possible to get CCJ's set aside. This can be done with or without the agreement of the creditor, by application to the court on grounds such as papers having been sent to the wrong address. It resets the clock back to the point at which proceedings were started - so the CCJ could be applied again - with a new date!!! but there would be a hearing. So if you go down this road, don't start until you can pay the whole lot off.