Credit scores are used as a way to check up on how much of a risk you are at paying back money you owe. When landlords rent a property out to you, in-depth checks aren’t normally done. So, it may come as something of a surprise that landlords will take a poor credit score rating into consideration when renting to you.
Research shows that 46% of landlords put trust into your credit history, while an even greater 48% would refuse to rent to the tenant completely if their was a county court judgement in their history. When it comes to insolvency, this affects the decision of around 42% of landlords.
The research done by Landlord Secure shows some interesting facts around tenant debt. A total of 30% of landlords stated that if the tenant had existing credit cards and loans, this would be seen as a red flag against them. If they were getting housing benefits, 19% of landlords would take this into consideration. Universal Credit was also an issue for a further 16% of landlords.
Interestingly, there are also calls for rental history to be included in credit checks. These aren’t included at the moment, but landlords believe that this would aid them in finding out if the tenant had a history of late payments, or even missed ones.
Whilst this will show missed payments, it should also be noted that it would show a landlord that this person was a good tenant. If payments are on time and there is no history of any problems, the landlord can see the proof. It can be hard for tenants to show that they manage to handle their rent at times, which is very important for the landlord.
It is vital to state that the information they want is only for the landlord to be able to make an informed decision. Not all would say no outright, some may show leniency if the tenant provided them with enough information as to why their credit score may not be at its best. In some ways though, it does seem to weigh a little heavily against the tenant who is looking for a home to live in.
What this does show, however, is that we all have to take care with our credit history, and try to provide a strong history. That is, of course, easier said than done, especially when life naturally throws hardships against us that can create debts.