DRO and Renting difficulties

Cola133

Hi I had to do a DRO on 9th March 2018, discharged/satisfied 9th March 2019. I need to leave my current rental and now I'm hitting a wall with renting a new property. They ask if you have any 'adverse credit' in the initial enquiry phonecall, and I reply honestly, but the last letting agent just said that as my DRO was for 10.5k and it will show on my credit history when they credit check me, that they couldn't even consider me. They would consider me if my debt was under 10k with a home owner Guarantor, but she said my current record would void the Landlords insurance! Does this seem correct?

I've just credit checked myself, I scored 272 out of 500 indicative of a medium risk tenant (Equifax credit score 518 out of 100 considered Fair) Everything on credit report is fine except for a last box that shows my DRO as satisfied on 09-03-2019 - they recommendation is 'Medium Risk, Should be a suitable Tenant'

I should add that I have never defaulted on rent payments, my debt was due to having store cards, then getting very sick and not being able to pay.

Should I declare my DRO before referencing or just see if it picks it up on credit scoring, I know it should drop off my record next year but I need to move now unfortunately. Is it true that letting to a tenant with adverse credit history affects the Landlords insurance? I don't have a Guarantor, but do you think it would help if I offered 6 months rent in advance?

Thank you for any help

EssexHebridean

I believe there is a way of ensuring that your rent payments show on your credit file - this would help to build up a clearer picture for potential landlords of your reliability on paying your rent. There is some info from Experian on it here: https://www.experian.com/rentbureau/rental-payment

_Penny_Dreadful

Cola133 said:

Hi I had to do a DRO on 9th March 2018, discharged/satisfied 9th March 2019. I need to leave my current rental and now I'm hitting a wall with renting a new property. They ask if you have any 'adverse credit' in the initial enquiry phonecall, and I reply honestly, but the last letting agent just said that as my DRO was for 10.5k and it will show on my credit history when they credit check me, that they couldn't even consider me. They would consider me if my debt was under 10k with a home owner Guarantor, but she said my current record would void the Landlords insurance! Does this seem correct?

I've just credit checked myself, I scored 272 out of 500 indicative of a medium risk tenant (Equifax credit score 518 out of 100 considered Fair) Everything on credit report is fine except for a last box that shows my DRO as satisfied on 09-03-2019 - they recommendation is 'Medium Risk, Should be a suitable Tenant'

I should add that I have never defaulted on rent payments, my debt was due to having store cards, then getting very sick and not being able to pay.

Should I declare my DRO before referencing or just see if it picks it up on credit scoring, I know it should drop off my record next year but I need to move now unfortunately. Is it true that letting to a tenant with adverse credit history affects the Landlords insurance? I don't have a Guarantor, but do you think it would help if I offered 6 months rent in advance?

Thank you for any help

As your DRO is a form of insolvency it will show on your public credit file. It will be very easy for a landlord to find so be upfront about it. It doesn’t matter how Equifax or any of these other agencies rate you as a tenant because they’re not the ones who’ll be offering you a tenancy agreement. Competition is fierce for rental properties in many parts of the UK. If I had my pick of the tenants would I choose one with a DRO on their credit file….probably not. 

I take anything letting agents say with a pinch of salt because I find most of them to be mouth breathers. The landlord insurance thing may or may not be true in that particular case, who knows. There’s more than one landlord insurance policy out there and some landlords choose to self insure or not bother with insurance altogether. If you really must move then would being a lodger with a resident landlord be an option since in those cases you usually deal directly with the landlord? Looking for landlords who let through Open Rent and similar is another option as then you’re dealing with the organ grinder rather than monkeys. 

freesha

Ignore the credit score - it means nothing. The fact is, you have been insolvent in the last 6 years - that will show up. How potential landlords risk-assess that is up to them.

dimbo61

We have know idea where you live  or what type of rental your looking for but.
In many areas of the UK  lots of potential  tenants are fighting over few available  rental properties.
As a Landlord you can pick and chose the best tenant available.
Someone working with a good job and references,  passing the credit checks and with a Guarantor 
So your already fighting an up hill battle

GDB2222

Why do you have to leave your current rental, and have you talked to the council about being homeless? The two are very closely linked, although that isn’t obvious. The council may have a duty to house you, but not if you leave your current home voluntarily.