Renting Discrimination

in_my_wellies

My brother just returned from living in another country for 20 years. 

No bank account, no history, no credit rating, no reference, no job (retired) He booked Air B&B whilst he looked but all the agencies said he would never tick enough boxes to secure a property.

They told him to look in private ads, local paper, newsagents windows, Gumtree, Facebook, etc. He found a property within a week as she was willing to accept him via a face-to-face interview. 

MrLow

My point is for those with a better credit history will be considered even if the shoe was on the other foot, if was the landlord I would want the strongest candidate for my property!

There just doesn't seem to be much to help those that can afford to rent even with a bad credit history!

Maybe I am just being one-sided as I am coming at this with the angle of my situation. I just wanted to know if there are schemes or part by part rent solutions out there that look at your circumstances and weigh up all history cause if your local authority cannot help due to housing stock then where can you turn to.

Everyone needs a place to call home!

Slithery

MrLow said:

My point is for those with a better credit history will be considered even if the shoe was on the other foot, if was the landlord I would want the strongest candidate for my property!

And that's exactly what's happening. What other method would you use for assessing candidates apart from their credit history, employment status and references?

MrLow said:

Everyone needs a place to call home!

They do indeed.
You already have one...

[Deleted User]

MrLow said:

if was the landlord I would want the strongest candidate for my property!

Exactly. That's why landlords go for those with a better history of paying bills.

theartfullodger

My best ever tenants had only recently arrived in Uk, no credit history, etc etc.. The reference I was offered (not asked for) was a neighbour who I'd known for some years who said "Mr Artful, they very nice people".  They were!  Some landlords can think for themselves, but sadly having a brain is not a requirement for being a landlord.

Nor, in England, is it a requirement for either landlords or lettings agents to have any qualifications, any training or a criminal record check.  You could be dealing, literally and entirely legally, with ex-prisoners on early release from Brixton from their prison terms for GBH & Fraud. Come on England, catch up!

aoleks

I’m not sure it’s discrimination, you’re probably speculating about their reasons. However, a couple of points:

1. Landlords sometimes have restrictions such as no pets, no babies etc, but it’s not as bad as you think. Especially since we’re talking about a 3 bed family property, a baby/child is expected.

2. The rental market is mad right now (generally speaking, there are some exceptions), so landlords will obviously choose the lowest risk. Between a single esrner on £42k and a history of bankruptcy and a couple making £100k+ and a sparkling credit score, they’ll go for the latter.

3. Your detailed financial situation is only investigated at a later stage, so it really depends how you package yourself. “Young professional family with a stable income, excellent references covering the last 3 years and backed by a guarantor” sounds much better than “single earner that was bankrupt, non-working mother”. Only give them the information required at the stage required.

4. you keep talking about “the agent”. There are probably dozens of agents around or direct landlords, only one (the one you’re currently dealing with) knows you. What’s stopping you from using other agencies?

5. Clean up your bank statements, improve your credit score where possible, get that written reference and be realistic about max rent (usually gross annual salary / 30) and start applying yourself, proactively.