letting agents and credit checks.

[Orxyandcrake]

Hey!

So I've been a single mum for several years, and I've finally decided to rent a different place with my partner. I gave two months notice and I have just under six weeks left to find a place :/

The problem is, I have a credit rating of 554, which is all because of my water provider (long story). My partner on the other hand has a rating of 990.

Also annoyingly I am a student, which for some reason they don't like. (they dont even count my student income as income).

So basically he has a good income (30-35 a year) and an excellent rating.

I (in the eyes of agents) have no income and poor credit rating

How would this look to potential landlords/agents? Is there even any point in us looking? It's getting so stressful at the moment, I'm worried we wont find a place in time !

Any advice greatly appreciated!

You’ll be fine your partner has a good score, they’re basically just checking you can afford the place and don’t have mountains of debt that will lead you to not paying the rent.

They can only check public information, such as bankruptcy, ccjs, DROs. They cannot access your full credit file! xx

The credit check letting agents do is not a full credit check. It won’t show the same information as you see on your credit file. It will only show up CCJs, defaults, etc. It won’t show missed payments.

Corporate letting agents are much more restrictive, as they have to follow company policy, whereas more independantly owned letting agents can be more flexible and may take all income into consideration. I’d advise going to see some of them and completing an application if they have a house you are interested in.