letting after bankruptcy

p_joker

If anyone can offer some advice i would be really greatful!
Before I met my husband he was very poor with money infact he was in debt to 20k, I didnt know it was this bad until we were a few days away from getting married I knew he had a lone for 6k but thought he was on top of that, so just after we got married he filed for bankruptcy this went ahead I know this is a drastic thing to do but we looked on it as a new start, his wages were paid into my account every month i took control of the bills all has been fine, we have been living in a flat for the past 17 months there have been no problems all rent and bills have been paid on time the landlord gave us a good reference but the problem we have now is our landlord rented a flat and shop but as he only needed the shop he sublets the flat to us hes now giving up the shop so that means we have to move out, there are very few places to rent at the mo because nobody is buying, we have been to see 5 places all have been either up alot of stairs ( we have a 14 month old) or have been far to small
we went to see a house the other day to be honest i wasnt all that keen on it but it was close to town and work so we had a chat and said we would go for it because timne is running out we have untill may 31st

well as they all do a credit check now we had to pay £129.25 for this (even tho my husband did one online for £6!) and we were asked if we had any ccjs or such and we answered no because this is true but yesterday we had a phonecall and they said as he didnt tell them about the bankruptcy we cant have the house, we cant rent through them and we cant have our money back! well im pig sick because I feel ive been robbed they said if he had told them about it it would have been different but I feel this is very unfiar because if they need to know about something shouldnt they as us? im not a mind reader my husband has a letter and it says in underlined writing EARLY DISCHARGE NOTICE so I honestly didnt think it was a problem
do i have any come back on this? and what do I do next?

Alan_M_2

Asking if "you have any CCJ's or such" Includes Bankruptcy. Therefore in their eyes you have lied or withheld important information.

Be up front from the word go, tell people your husband is bankrupt.

This will prove a big problem if He hasn't been discharged, as it's illegal to provide any form of credit in excess of £500 until he is.

Once he's discharged things get easier. If He's had a court sealed Early discharge notice, then the best thing He can do is apply for an official Certificate of Discharge from his official receivers court (costs £60) and fax this to both Experian and Equifax and inform them to update their records. He will then show as a discharged Bankrupt and this will open up the possibilities for you.

Until then, try and obtain a lease in your name only, if this isn't feasible you'll be required to pay in advance for the period you wish to rent (6 months) in which case you're obtaining no credit and will not be required to undertake a credit check.

Bottom line is, it is your responsibility to declare all facts before the event, if you say there are no financial problems and they are discovered you have already seen the consequences.

neas

Agree with above poster.... unfortunately going bankrupt isn't meant to be an easy way out...

Bankrupt is the worst form of credit history... you've not paid 20k of debt... so obviously forgetting to mention this was a bad idea.

Try and get a private landlord as going through estate agents will be a waste of time. Its sad but its a hard lesson learned.

emsywoo123

Might be worth a peek on the Banckruptcy board as well, they have good advice and can explain the full implications, what it means for you, and longer term ramifications too

jimc_2

I agree with Alan M that you have unknowingly caused a large part of the problem because of the lack of openness in your response.

Credit checks are just that and look at all sorts of past financial behaviour.

Surprisingly the actual Credit Score is often not the most important part of the Tenant Referencing but is used as a check on the perceived trustworthiness of the prospective tenant. The Credit check throws up things like past addresses and some Credit checks link these to other people's financial behaviour.

Overall the agency doing the checking is looking at the whole story to try to spot an untruth or avoidance which might undermine the tenant's credibility. By omitting the Bankruptcy you APPEAR to be trying to cover it up. The same goes for discharged CCJs. Even if it is discharged, if it ever existed it needs to be declared to avoid the APPEARANCE of being duplicitous.

If you're still interested in the flat, your best course of action now is to go back to the agent and explain the reason for your mistake. Tell them you weren't trying to cover anything up. They may be inclined to reconsider based on your own current finances but it depends on how the LL reacts as well.

If that doesn't work out, you'll need to go looking again and this time DECLARE EVERYTHING on the Credit referencing form when you apply for the tenancy.

mlz1413

Get your current LL to write you a reference saying you have alway paid on time and been good tenants if he can add that he would happily have you back if he had another property will look good.

Try and get a private LL who will look at work/employment references, a letter saying you have paid your rent on time for x months/years should help a lot.

Also offer a guarantor preferable who lives locally so new LL can see your unlikely to be a problem.

What part of the country are you in?

missymugwump

Hi


Just wanted to say its not all doom & gloom
You will not have a problem with all commercial letting agents
Only those ignorant enough to treat you like a second class citizen

You made a mistake by not declaring the bankruptcy but live & learn

We were upfront about our past bankruptcy & have let two houses with no problems at all
Try another agent
Try letting locally from the paper
Can you offer 6 months rent up front ? it really helps
Offer a guarentor
Rent in your name alone if you can

Just dont give up

Good luck

p_joker

well in reply to the 2nd poster we did actually say we would be happy to pay the 6 months up front because although my husband has no money I had some so this wouldnt have been a problem but when we said this after they turned us down it was asked if he had put this to the Landlord and he said no and Im not going to !
Thanks for the advice about Certificate of Discharge from I think this would be worth the money He was told he had an early Discharge but i guess this doesnt mean anything to them

chocolatechipcookies

[QUOTE=neas;10636781_and_get_a_private_landlord_as_going_through_estate_agents_will_be_a_waste_of_time.__Its_sad_but_its_a_hard_lesson_learned.[/QUOTE]

Why because they do actual credit checks? If you can't pay your debts, what makes them think you can afford to pay rent?

emsywoo123

p_joker wrote: »

well in reply to the 2nd poster we did actually say we would be happy to pay the 6 months up front because although my husband has no money I had some so this wouldnt have been a problem but when we said this after they turned us down it was asked if he had put this to the Landlord and he said no and Im not going to !
Thanks for the advice about Certificate of Discharge from I think this would be worth the money He was told he had an early Discharge but i guess this doesnt mean anything to them

Early discharge DOES mean something, but I would again recommend going to the B/R board, as they will explain..........I am sure 6 years is quoted somewhere, but please don't take my word for it!

Alan_M_2

chocolatechipcookies wrote: »

Why because they do actual credit checks? If you can't pay your debts, what makes them think you can afford to pay rent?

Irrelevant if they choose to pay in full in advance.

The point of the OP, was they weren't asked directly if there was a bankruptcy, (it had but in a roundabout way).

They have been corrected on this point.

As an aside, the bankruptcy laws have been changed, some say slackened.....previously you were declared bankrupt for a period of 3 years, if you happened to go again, it was the same period of 3 years.....serial offenders were not penalised any harsher.

Now you are bankrupt for a year only, and in real terms often only 7-8 months, but if you go again, it's 15 years.......

This has the strange side effect that someone who has been bankrupt once is statistically now less likely to go bankrupt again than someone who has never filed. Simply because the penalty for doing so is so harsh. So in reality, the one time bankrupt is in someways a better credit risk.

I don't see the system being a bad thing, particularly for those that have been bankrupted through no fault of their own (usually business connected where a customer has gone taking you with them).

I actually feel there should be different categories which highlighted voluntary, business, idiocy, gambling etc......it would then give lenders more information for future facilities once discharged.

i.e. I don't feel someone whose business was taken down due to a fraudulent or bad customer or change in government policy should be pigeon holed in the same category as a person who filled up credit credit buying cars and plasma TV's then chose not to pay it all.