Can I rent a property with bad credit?

MissCarmen

Hi There,

Last year I separated from my husband due to an addiction on his end and we are subsequently getting divorced. I was also self employed and when we split I ran into some financial difficulties which mean that I now have some late payments and one default on my credit record.

Since then I moved back home, got a full time job and set up a debt management plan, which I have been paying on time for nearly a year, however I looked at my credit report today and my credit score is 'very poor' - about 250.

Also, when we split, I moved back into my parents place. This was a temporary measure to allow me to get back on my feet and although I am incredibly grateful I have also had absolutely enough of living back in my parents' tiny spare bedroom, with my dog. I am 35 years old! I need to move out.

I finally found a gorgeous little studio apartment to rent which I can afford and is close to work, however I am feeling really anxious about the estate agents credit checks.

I have been 'Googling' all afternoon and I can't seem to find any up to date info about what they can actually see. Some say they only see CCJs and bankruptcies, which I don't have any of, and some say that they can see the whole report, late payments and any defaults, which I do have.

Can anyone clear this up for me please?

What exactly do the estate agents see when they credit check you and is there anything I can do to improve my chances of securing this tenancy.

Many thanks in advance.

Julie.

theartfullodger

You can (may, legally possible to) rent with bad credit:

However it will put off many letting agents and landlords. They will each have different checks - some none at all, some very thorough. Since a tenant credit check can start at only £6 you get the idea - e.g.
http://www.legalforlandlords.co.uk/product/landlord-tenant-referencing/

However in your shoes I would go round and see all local agents, smart, calm & polite (they may quite likely be scruffy, irritated/irritating & rude - or so I have been told), explain matters and you might get lucky. What they really really really won't like is being told everything's fine & dandy & then find CCJs etc...

There are guides for building up a better credit history: CCJs are the key ones to be careful of.
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=257

I had a tenant that was OK but for personal reasons decided to make herself bankrupt: She told me - after being a good-paying tenant for over a year: I figured with everything else going on in her life the last thing she'd be doing would be not paying the rent & ending up making herself homeless, and so it turned out.

Good luck, best wishes, I'm sure you'll get sorted - eventually..

hannalb

This is just from my personal experience and I don't have anything else to base this on, but my partner had very bad credit and was also on a debt management plan (no CCJs or anything like that though). We never mentioned anything to any letting agents and we are now on our third rented property, having passed all the checks without any problems. We mentioned it casually to one when we were doing a viewing, and they said as long as we had full time jobs and could prove our income was more than 2.5 times the rent that was usually fine, and worst case scenario the landlord would just ask for a guarantor.

MissCarmen

Thanks for the replies.

I'm feeling a bit calmer / more hopeful now. To be clear I don't have any CCJs.

matchboxfull

My experience, and understanding, is that they can only see 'major' things like CCJs and bankruptcy. I've always been able to rent with bad credit (now repaired).

Good luck with your plans.

theartfullodger

If you can afford the fees then maybe apply for a place you don't want through an agent you'll never use & see what comes back. Not 100% certain but might be informative...