Renting with bad credit

[whatamess]

Hi all

 

I am thinking of renting a property and i have a very poor credit history. Just wondered how this will effect me when we go through checks with the landlord or an agency.

 

I have defults and I have 2 payment arrangements. I do not have any CCJ's or bankrupsy.

 

Thanks

[MrShed]

It will ultimately depend upon the credit check, but if you have no CCJs then I wouldnt be overly concerned.

[loolol]

In my experience, if you have bad credit they MAY ask for a guarantor (someone who earns over £30K in London area!).

[whatamess]

Hi all

 

Thanks for your replies. Thats perfect.

 

Lotu_Hikmet - Not sure what happened to your message. Am unable to read it.

 

Thanks

[deathbycrayons]

Well when we applied for a property we were told we'd only fail the credit check if we had CCJ's and/or were dishonest about what we put on the application.

[whatamess]

Ok thanks all

[Ed999]

My comments only apply if the premises are entirely within England and Wales.

 

 

Freedom of Contract

 

This is a free country: the parties are entirely free to choose for themselves whether they wish to enter into a tenancy agreement with each other.

 

The law only regulates the terms of the resulting tenancy, if they enter into one, not the process of negotiation.

 

There are no laws governing what credit checks or other references a landlord can ask for, nor what guarantees or other security he can ask for, nor what amount he can ask for rent or administrative expenses, nor who he can appoint as his Agent to manage the letting for him.

 

The law will uphold a valid contract, if one is agreed, whether that is a reservation (a contract not to offer the premises to anyone else while references etc are obtained) or an actual tenancy agreement.

 

 

The Approval Procedure

 

The letting agent is the agent of the landlord, hence works in the landlord's interests, and owes no duty to you.

 

The agent will discuss with you possible solutions which might be used if you have a bad credit history. But nothing is agreed. They merely outline some possibilities, while committing the landlord to nothing: no tenancy agreement is signed, and no rent deposit is taken.

 

The agent typically asks for a mere holding deposit, to take the property off the market (i.e. an agreement to offer it to no one else for a period of time); and/or asks for an administration charge, to cover the cost of (a) obtaining credit references and other references on you, and (b) reporting on the outcome thereof to the landlord - for which the agent must pay out certain fees and must handle various administrative chores.

 

You complete an application form, and pay the holding deposit and/or the administrative charge. You are only applying; it is not a guarantee of being accepted. The references must be obtained before any decision can be made. Depending how bad your credit history is, each landlord will take his own view, when he reads the details of the references, on whether to accept you as a good risk or decline your application. This will vary from landlord to landlord; and it is outside the agent's control.

 

 

In summary:

 

a. The letting agent makes no binding commitment. He merely explains the possibilities to you. It is not possible to make a decision before the references are obtained. Your credit history might, for all he knows, contain only trivial defaults.

 

b. A refusal should be explained when the landlord has received, and considered, your application; not before the landlord even knows of your interest.

 

c. You can improve your chances by offering to provide a guarantor or to pay substantial rent in advance; but there is never a guarantee of being accepted. You might look for lower-rent properties; landlords ask low rents if they anticipate difficulty in letting a property, and can be less obstructive if they know a property may be difficult to let.