Trying to rent with a CCJ

HeiseyWeisey

This is me venting some frustration and also looking for advice. This is also my first post so apologies if anything is incorrect..

I am trying to rent. Unfortunately I have a CCJ so I will fail any credit checks against me.. and may not be able to rent. What am I supposed to do?

Is there a way I can rent with bad credit?

Thanks for your help in advance.

Pixie5740

Offer 6 months rent upfront or a guarantor. Alternatively try and find a private let (no agencies) to see if you can find a LL who won't credit check.

sacha28

Having a CCJ doesn't necessarily mean you won't be able to rent but it is a hurdle that could hold you back, but it depends on the agent.

Both my partner and I have a CCJ and were discharged from a DRO in Jan this year and we are relocating on the 25th of this month. During the property search we encountered over 15 different agents and we were upfront with each and every one of them. Some said we would need a guarantor, others said they weren't that interested as so many people in this day and age have had financial problems and we were honest about it.

We are moving into our dream property in less than 3 weeks with an agent that 1)didn't charge ANY referencing fees 2)didn't do a credit check as they felt it was pointless paying out to see on paper what we had already told them. I know agent's like this are very few and far between but they are out there!!

Don't feel disheartened (difficult I know, we spent many days in despair whilst looking for our house!) just be prepared to put in some work on finding a decent agent.

And any agent that says they can see your full report when they do a credit check are lying......they can only see the public information i.e CCJ's, bankruptcy etc. Defaults, late payments etc can't be seen and if they ask what your score is just tell them it's irrelevant.

HeiseyWeisey

Thank you for your replies. Thats made me feel a little bit better. Its just really scary, I feel like I am going to end up with no where to live! :-(

desperate_times

And any agent that says they can see your full report when they do a credit check are lying......they can only see the public information i.e CCJ's, bankruptcy etc. Defaults, late payments etc can't be seen and if they ask what your score is just tell them it's irrelevant.[/QUOTE]

I didn't realise they couldn't see defaults and late payments. Are you sure? So if no CCJ and no bankruptcy then they won't see any problems?

Beckyy

If you can afford to pay your rent then just be upfront, pay in advance and use a guarantor if necessary. I'm a LL and if you were upfront about it, and could prove you had an income which would cover your rent then it wouldn't bother me.

happy_bunny_2

desperate_times wrote: »

And any agent that says they can see your full report when they do a credit check are lying......they can only see the public information i.e CCJ's, bankruptcy etc. Defaults, late payments etc can't be seen and if they ask what your score is just tell them it's irrelevant.

I didn't realise they couldn't see defaults and late payments. Are you sure? So if no CCJ and no bankruptcy then they won't see any problems?[/QUOTE]

Correct. They market up the service to sound better than it us, but the credit search is limited to public records.

ArfanB

Depending on your Local Authority they have links with local EA's and landlords who take on tenants who get Housing Benefit (partial or full) for a bonus payment from the LA (finders fee) etc. So if you are in that boat (or not) it's always worth speaking with the Private Sector housing teams at the Local Authority.

I have had a few clients with CCJ's / Bankruptcy that have managed to secure tenancies. So don't worry about it.

sacha28

The way we saw it, and sold it, was like this......

OK so we had problems previously but we are now totally debt free and in a better position than we ever have been. Yes we took out a DRO but that feed us of our problems and means that we have no issues with paying rent.

Just because the next person who comes along may not have any CCJ's or public info that will show up on a credit check, who's to say they aren't only just keeping their heads above water by paying everything but leave themselves in a dire financial state?

Our CCJ is satisfied and our debts are no more, does that not make us more appealing?

desperate_times

I am still a bit confused by this as the various credit reference agency used by landlords seem to offer to provide some kind of "credit score". Does this credit score reflect level of debts, defaults, arrears, etc. even if not on the public record? I believe it shouldn't looking at some of things Experian has said but reading the marketing blurb it sounds like it might. Do the credit reference agencies have access to non-public records to complile the "credit score"?

happy_bunny_2

desperate_times wrote: »

I am still a bit confused by this as the various credit reference agency used by landlords seem to offer to provide some kind of "credit score". Does this credit score reflect level of debts, defaults, arrears, etc. even if not on the public record? I believe it shouldn't looking at some of things Experian has said but reading the marketing blurb it sounds like it might. Do the credit reference agencies have access to non-public records to complile the "credit score"?

The score is based on only public data, your profile, job, regional data etc. No non public account data.

it generates a score that letting agencies use.