PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING

Hello Forumites! In order to help keep the Forum a useful, safe and friendly place for our users, discussions around non-MoneySaving matters are not permitted per the Forum rules. While we understand that mentioning house prices may sometimes be relevant to a user's specific MoneySaving situation, we ask that you please avoid veering into broad, general debates about the market, the economy and politics, as these can unfortunately lead to abusive or hateful behaviour. Threads that are found to have derailed into wider discussions may be removed. Users who repeatedly disregard this may have their Forum account banned. Please also avoid posting personally identifiable information, including links to your own online property listing which may reveal your address. Thank you for your understanding.

We'd like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum. This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are - or become - political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.

Do Estate Agents do Credit Checks for lettings?

Options
oliviaolivia12345
oliviaolivia12345 Posts: 80 Forumite
edited 31 December 2011 at 4:31PM in House buying, renting & selling
account no longer being used thanks to bullying from forum members.

Comments

  • mandi
    mandi Posts: 11,932 Forumite
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker Stoptober Survivor
    Options
    Yes Olivia, and they usually charge an hurrendos fee to do it :mad:. They wont always refuse you if your in reciept of housing benifit , depends on the owner really..
  • mandi
    mandi Posts: 11,932 Forumite
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker Stoptober Survivor
    Options
    In my area ( cumbria ) about £ 40.00 Oliva .. not sure aboout the other areas sorry . this is the credit check only, have you got someone with a good credit history wh would stand as a guaranntor for you ? and..


    have you tried an advert of your own in the local paper , just an idea, but maybe worth a try.. :D
  • PasturesNew
    PasturesNew Posts: 70,698 Forumite
    Name Dropper Photogenic First Anniversary First Post
    Options
    Private agent fees to rent can be as much as £200. Some charge per person. My fee was £176.

    What is acceptable is up to each individual landlord. They might want, say, 6 months' rent in advance.

    When I moved, my flat cost me over £2000 up front as I paid

    - £176 agent fees
    - 1.5 months' rent as a deposit
    - 6 months' rent in advance

    Housing Benefit is a tricky one as landlords get charged extra insurance in a lot of instances. Also, claimants tend to be paid 4 weeks in arrears, yet rent is payable monthly in advance. So they disallow HB claimants in case there's a shortfall or problem in paying out, or because of the insurance issue.
  • nelly_2
    nelly_2 Posts: 17,863 Forumite
    First Post Combo Breaker
    Options
    Poster on here southernscouser asked this the other day on here

    Anyway as I pointed out its them who are asking for credit as you pay a month in advance plus deposit!

    Tell them you doing a credit check on them and charge double! :)
  • suzybaby2001
    suzybaby2001 Posts: 93 Forumite
    Options
    Our fee was £120 each (just moved in with my bloke).

    What really got me though was that I had to ring around for the referencing agency in work time as they were so useless! We were told we'd lose our admin fee if we were refused on the basis of credit files so I got straight on to Experian, Call Credit and Equifax to check there was nothing on my file I wasn't aware of. A couple of these companies have a free trial period, which I cancelled as soon as the application was successful.
    One day I will be out of my student debt, one day... :beer:
  • mandi
    mandi Posts: 11,932 Forumite
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker Stoptober Survivor
    Options
    nelly wrote: »
    Poster on here southernscouser asked this the other day on here

    Anyway as I pointed out its them who are asking for credit as you pay a month in advance plus deposit!

    Tell them you doing a credit check on them and charge double! :)


    :rotfl: :rotfl: :D
  • ruggedtoast
    ruggedtoast Posts: 9,819 Forumite
    Options
    Private landlords can do whatever they want. Providing they refund your deposit they can pull out of the deal on the morning youre due to move in. The situation is much better in Europe but our government has made very sure that along with denying home ownership to as many FTBs as possible, renting is a very raw deal too. Cant upset the landlord class doncha know.
  • tbs624
    tbs624 Posts: 10,816 Forumite
    Options
    Olivia - it’s the combination of a poor credit history and the housing benefit that will limit your options. Suzy mentioned above about getting a copy of your own credit report from the 3 credit referencing agencies, which would be a good start (read MSE Martin’s own advice on improving your credit rating here: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/credit-rating-credit-score)

    Even if you find a private LL who doesn’t use an agent, most of them will rightly insist on any tenant being credit checked.

    You don’t want to be paying out LAs admin charges unnecessarily ( in addition to credit check fees) so you’d need to be upfront about your full situation.

    As Pastures New says, you will probably need to get yourself a guarantor, who will also need to pay a fee to be credit checked.

    Have you spoken to anyone in the Council’s Housing Dept? They have an Private Tenancies Officer who may be able to give you some advice.

    Are there are any local Housing Associations that you could apply to?
  • Snooze
    Snooze Posts: 2,041 Forumite
    Combo Breaker First Post
    Options
    I don't quite see what all the fuss is about. :confused:

    I've rented on and off for donkey's years, always used private landlord's that advertise in the local rag and not one of them has ever requested a credit check. I've had quite a few request umpteen months rent in advance as deposit but I just tell them to go and swivel and look elsewhere. I refuse to pay more than a months rent as deposit.

    Letting agents are just leeches that should be banned as they unnecessarily keep the rental prices inflated because of the extra they stick on to cover their commission.

    Rob
This discussion has been closed.
★ ★ ★ Meet your Ambassadors

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 12 Election 2024: The MSE Leaders' Debate
  • 344.2K Banking & Borrowing
  • 250.4K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 450.1K Spending & Discounts
  • 236.3K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 609.7K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 173.6K Life & Family
  • 248.9K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 15.9K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards