Letting agent told me it doesn't matter if CCJ is paid off

uplock135

Hi everyone

I am planning on moving into my first apartment by myself and found one I liked. I contacted the letting agency who asked me about my credit history. I told them I got a CCJ in 2018. Recently, I partially paid off this CCJ. It shows as partially settled on my credit report. However, the letting agency said it doesn't matter if I partially settled it, the fact I had one means I will fail referencing.

I don't understand this. This means that for the next six years I won't be able to rent an apartment by myself. It's really depressing. Is this just the price I pay for being irresponsible a few years ago?

For those who may ask, I suffered from an addiction. I have been in recovery for several years, paid back thousands in debt and been successful in my career, allowing me to save money, get a good salary and get back on my feet. I'm devastated that in my 30s I will have to stay in houseshares. is this really the case?

Slithery

Don't panic!

It's up to each individual landlord/agent whether or not to accept you, just because the one that you've tried so far won't accept you doesn't mean that others will do the same. Every LL/agent will have their own specific requirements.

Try sites like Openrent instead of traditional letting agents as you may find that speaking direct to the landlord rather than going through an agent might make for an easier application. As long as you are open and upfront about your credit history it shouldn't be too difficult to find somewhere if you're in full-time employment and meet the 30x affordability (yearly wage > 30 x monthly rent).

MovingForwards

Either a guarantor or 6 - 12 months rent in advance is what I was told when looking for a new flat. My CCJ was 3+ years old at the time.

diggingdude

a partially paid ccj less than a year ago is going to suggest to many agents etc that you can't manage your money. As said above you may have more success contacting landlords directly

AdrianC

uplock135 wrote: »

I am planning on moving into my first apartment by myself and found one I liked. I contacted the letting agency who asked me about my credit history. I told them I got a CCJ in 2018. Recently, I partially paid off this CCJ. It shows as partially settled on my credit report.

So you still owe money, and still have an outstanding CCJ.
Even if you pay it in full, it'll still show for some years - albeit as completely satisfied.

However, the letting agency said it doesn't matter if I partially settled it, the fact I had one means I will fail referencing.

"Fail referencing" is not some blanket, universal black and white. It simply means that this landlord will not choose to let this property to you at this time because of what he knows about your debt history.
Such is his prerogative, wouldn't you agree?

This means that for the next six years I won't be able to rent an apartment by myself.

No, it means that particular landlord won't rent that property to you today.

It's really depressing. Is this just the price I pay for being irresponsible a few years ago?

Honestly? Yes. Of course there are consequences for having a court tell you that you owe money, and still continuing to owe some or all of it.

For those who may ask, I suffered from an addiction. I have been in recovery for several years, paid back thousands in debt and been successful in my career, allowing me to save money, get a good salary and get back on my feet.

Good for you. Now keep down that path until you've paid the rest of the debt off, and shown that you aren't going to relapse and have learnt to manage properly in the long term.

I'm devastated that in my 30s I will have to stay in houseshares. is this really the case?

Nowhere near that simple. But the further away you get from still actively owing money, the better your chances.

As a landlord, would I rent to somebody who still actively owed? Probably not.
Would I rent to somebody who had cleared their debts? Probably.
But there're massive grey areas and other factors, too. Remember, you aren't the only person looking to rent - it's not "you or the place stays empty". It's "you or somebody else without your risk factors".

Retired_Mortgage_Adviser

I second this. Self-managing landlords are more likely to look at your situation in its entirety. Good luck!

Slithery wrote: »

Try sites like Openrent instead of traditional letting agents as you may find that speaking direct to the landlord rather than going through an agent might make for an easier application.

uplock135

Thanks for the detailed reply.

I have spoken with the letting agent and he knows some landlords who will be fine renting to me so it's just a case of waiting for the right property to come up.

I obviously misunderstood the whole concept of 'paying it off'. The debt company themselves said that paying x amount would satisfy the debt and I would no longer owe anything to them. So I can't continue paying it off as as far as they're concerned there's nothing to pay off.

Fingers crossed I find somewhere soon anyway.

AdrianC

uplock135 wrote: »

I obviously misunderstood the whole concept of 'paying it off'. The debt company themselves said that paying x amount would satisfy the debt and I would no longer owe anything to them. So I can't continue paying it off as as far as they're concerned there's nothing to pay off.

Indeed. Because your creditors will have passed the debt on to the management company at a discount. They'll not have received every penny they were owed - but they agreed that something up front and leaving the risk to somebody else was better than nothing.

So a potential landlord is looking at the fact your credit history involves other creditors wishing they'd never had your account, and thinking "Well, that's me warned off."

Your original post talks about "partially paying off" the CCJ, which is why I thought you hadn't completely paid back what you owe. If you have finished a DMP, then you've paid back what everybody agreed that you now owe - but that's less than what you originally owed.

You have completed paying that reduced amount, though, which is definitely in your favour, and over time you'll show that you've learnt from history, and so the risk will be reduced.

macman

Paying it off makes no difference, it will still show as a default for 6 years from 2018. whether satisfied or not. And that is an accurate reflection of your credit history.
It wasn't a case of you 'being irresponsible a few years ago': the CCJ is only a year to 20m old.
Put yourself in the LL's shoes: faced with a choice between yourself and someone with a clean credit history, who would you choose?

AdrianC

macman wrote: »

It wasn't a case of you 'being irresponsible a few years ago': the CCJ is only a year to 20m old.

The debts would have been run up over a period well in advance of that, however.

Comms69

charlottesometimes wrote: »

I was speaking to a typical everyday estate agent - so someone with no qualifications, training or legal knowledge? yesterday and she was explaining to me the process they go through to verify tenants. She said exactly the same thing. Even one small CCJ that had been satisfied in the past 5 years would still be unacceptable and the tenant would then need a guarantor. She told me a guarantor would still be required "even if the tenant offered to pay 6 months in advance". I was very surprised.

There is no standard criteria.