Credit Checks For Renting With Bad Credit
Credit checks for renting are becoming more common these days. When your looking for a place to rent one of the things that a landlord or letting agency manager can request is a credit check. This involves accessing your credit report from the 3 major credit bureaus who are Experian, Equifax and Transunion.
The credit report holds information about your credit and payment history, the number of accounts you have and the outstanding amounts you owe. The key reason why rental credit checks are an important part of the tenant screening process is to determine if you have anything on your credit file that a landlord should be concerned about.
Landlords want to make sure they are renting their property to people who have the capacity to pay the rent for the period they wish to stay there. Not all landlords have the same requirements. Some may deny you if you have a question mark hanging over your credit history, while others will want to ensure you have enough money to cover the rental for the next 6 months.
Can I Rent With Bad Credit?
This is a common question that many renters ask if they have bad credit rating. There are many factors that can lower a persons credit score. These can include making late payments, defaulting on loans and inaccurate or out of date information on their credit report. However, the ones that will cause the most problems will be defaults, County Court Judgments (CCJ's) and bankruptcy.
If you have any of these on your credit file and a landlord makes a background check there is a good chance that you will be refused accommodation. In this case you need to find a landlord who does not carry out credit checks for renting property. This means avoid using property management and letting agencies.
Good places to find landlords who do not require checking your credit is the classified advertisements in your local press. Under the property section of newspapers you will find landlords who place adverts for rentals. If you find a rental house or apartment in the area you are looking for, contact the landlord and ask about the criteria they use to screen potential tenants.
You will find some will request credit score checks for renting while others will only be concerned about your current financial situation. If it is the latter they will probably need to look at your last 6 month bank statements to see if you have a guaranteed monthly income that is enough to cover the rental and deposit.
Improving Your Chances Of Being Approved With Bad Credit Checks
If a landlord does insist on a credit check for renting their property then, there are ways that you can win over the landlord if you have a bad credit history.
- Testimonials and Recommendations
If you know someone who can verify that you have made changes to improve your financial position you could use them as a reference. Consider people who have had a previous financial link with you. This can include past employers or landlords.
If you have a poor credit history then you need to fix the problem before you begin looking for a new apartment rental. If you have made a concerted effort to address the issues by paying off your debts or using the services of a debt management company then ask your creditors if they could write you a letter about your outstanding debts being paid in full.
This is a person who will sign the lease or rental application on your behalf and will be made liable if your eviction from the property is a result of you not paying your rent. The guarantor or co-signer will need to have a good and solid credit history as it will be checked.
This will obviously be someone who trusts you and you should repay that trust by ensuring that you do pay the rent on time each and every month for the term of the lease.
The Cost Of Renting With Bad Credit
If you want to rent an apartment with bad credit you will have to expect that renting is going to be more expensive. This is not only the case for renting as a low credit rating will make overall borrowing more costly. As you will be a higher credit risk landlords will want to offset that risk by requesting a higher deposit or two to three months rent in advance.
Therefore, it is a good idea that if your planning on moving in the near future that you save enough money to cover you for the higher deposit and advance rent. Doing this can also help you make up for your bad credit history if you can provide the landlord with four to six months rental in advance. In many cases a landlord could overlook your previous record by handing over 6 months rent in advance.
Your credit history is your past and your past does not mean you will continue the same way with your future finances. However, credit checks for renting property is a reality you must be prepared for and for that reason improving your credit record is essential.
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