Renting - will I pass a credit check?

kisobel

My OH and I are looking for a new flat at the moment and have found the perfect place!

The only concern however is that I might not pass the tenancy credit checks. At the moment I am on a temporary (6 month) employment contract that runs out at the end of July. I have a permanent job offer lined up to go to but it won't be officially confirmed until I have passed the security and reference checks for the job which could take several more weeks.

So my worry is that I will fail the credit check for not having a guaranteed permanent income, and me and my OH will lose our holding deposit (we haven't paid anything yet).

My mum will act as guarantor for me if necessary but she has a mortgage and not much spare income so I'm not sure if she earns enough to pass the guarantor check either!

Does anyone have any experience of being credit checked on a temporary contract or have any knowledge in this area? Is this likely to cause a problem or am I worrying unnecessarily?

Thank you!

madteza

Hiya!!

Whilst I have no experience in temporary contracts the best thing to do is get a letter from your employer stating your contract and provide this to the letting agent, being honest is far the easier option.

kisobel

madteza wrote: »

Hiya!!

Whilst I have no experience in temporary contracts the best thing to do is get a letter from your employer stating your contract and provide this to the letting agent, being honest is far the easier option.

Thanks for your reply madteza!

I'm intending to be totally honest with them as they will check up everything with my employer I'm sure! I'd just like to know how likely I am to pass the credit checks before I cough up £300 holding deposit!

Jaymz

I have had a similar issue this week. I haven't worked for 6 months (been away travelling) but I have a full time job earning a good wage (start next week) and they won't let me take on a flat without 3 months worth of current pay slips... I even offered to pay 6 months rent in advance and they refused!
Apparently it's got something to do with the landlord not getting support if something was to go wrong as they are guaranteed by the credit check. Thats what the lady at the estate agency told me anyway... which is probably rubbish!

barnaby-bear

kisobel wrote: »

My OH and I are looking for a new flat at the moment and have found the perfect place!

The only concern however is that I might not pass the tenancy credit checks. At the moment I am on a temporary (6 month) employment contract that runs out at the end of July. I have a permanent job offer lined up to go to but it won't be officially confirmed until I have passed the security and reference checks for the job which could take several more weeks.

So my worry is that I will fail the credit check for not having a guaranteed permanent income, and me and my OH will lose our holding deposit (we haven't paid anything yet).

My mum will act as guarantor for me if necessary but she has a mortgage and not much spare income so I'm not sure if she earns enough to pass the guarantor check either!

Does anyone have any experience of being credit checked on a temporary contract or have any knowledge in this area? Is this likely to cause a problem or am I worrying unnecessarily?

Thank you!

I was just asked income and employers name, fax and phone no. - very small box... they sent a fax to employer (this speeds it up).

In fact we didn't put Mrs. B-B on the check form (claimed she was a traditional housewife) because they charge per head to credit check and if one of you earns enough to cover the rent it can save you money.
The formula the two main agencies use are 24 times rent must be less than annual pre-tax salary or 30 times for a few. So earn 24k you can pass check for up to 1000 a month or 800 on the strictest.
HTH

ToAoB

Jaymz wrote: »

Apparently it's got something to do with the landlord not getting support if something was to go wrong as they are guaranteed by the credit check. Thats what the lady at the estate agency told me anyway... which is probably rubbish!

It's not rubbish - it could be for something like HomeLet insurance - such as rent guarantee or legal expenses which can be used to evict tenants etc.

If the tenants did not pass the checks - Landlord would not be covered for this IF the tenants decide to overstay their tenancy and refusing to pay up or is in breach of their agreement.

PROFESSIONAL_LANDLORD

Jaymz wrote: »

I have had a similar issue this week. I haven't worked for 6 months (been away travelling) but I have a full time job earning a good wage (start next week) and they won't let me take on a flat without 3 months worth of current pay slips... I even offered to pay 6 months rent in advance and they refused!
Apparently it's got something to do with the landlord not getting support if something was to go wrong as they are guaranteed by the credit check. Thats what the lady at the estate agency told me anyway... which is probably rubbish!

This donkey don't take that carrot either.

kisobel

Jaymz wrote: »

I have had a similar issue this week. I haven't worked for 6 months (been away travelling) but I have a full time job earning a good wage (start next week) and they won't let me take on a flat without 3 months worth of current pay slips... I even offered to pay 6 months rent in advance and they refused!
Apparently it's got something to do with the landlord not getting support if something was to go wrong as they are guaranteed by the credit check. Thats what the lady at the estate agency told me anyway... which is probably rubbish!

Thanks for your reply!

Ironic really, I'd be perfectly happy to provide 3 month's worth of payslips, but I'm worried about being able to prove that I've got work lined up for the future!

I don't have a problem with them doing credit checks though, if I were a landlord I'd certainly do them. Just want to make sure I'm not going to lose my deposit!

kisobel

barnaby-bear wrote: »

In fact we didn't put Mrs. B-B on the check form (claimed she was a traditional housewife) because they charge per head to credit check and if one of you earns enough to cover the rent it can save you money.
The formula the two main agencies use are 24 times rent must be less than annual pre-tax salary or 30 times for a few. So earn 24k you can pass check for up to 1000 a month or 800 on the strictest.
HTH

Thanks for replying B-B!

Me and my OH did that for our current flat and he passed the credit check on his own no problem... this one is lots more expensive though so it would definitely need both of us to be checked.

As an aside though, I think that 24 times the rent is a really ludicrous check - there's no way that I could afford a £1k a month rent on my £24k salary!

napoleon

PROFESSIONAL_LANDLORD wrote: »

This donkey don't take that carrot either.

Why ever not? Surely getting 6 months rent up front + a deposit covers you for all eventualities?

SquatNow

napoleon wrote: »

Why ever not? Surely getting 6 months rent up front + a deposit covers you for all eventualities?

Not if after 6 months the person never pays rent again and it takes the LL 6 months to get an eviction and the tennant leaves fish behind all the rediators.