I am looking at renting a house and i am scared that my credit rating will let me down!?

I have got bad credit and have missed a few payments on bills etc...I have also had CCJ's against me but have never appeared in court as a result of them. The letting agency is running a credit check against me and im worried that if any of this comes up i wont be granted the lease?


Please could somebody give me their advice on this matter?

I am looking at renting a house and i am scared that my credit rating will let me down!?
Unfortunately, if you have CCJ's against you, you would probably fail the credit check with the letting agent. Their quite stringent in their conditions, so they are sure you are going to be able to pay your rent on time each month.





What will probably happen is that they will ask you to get a guarentor, something which perhaps a family member could do for you. They sign the contract as well, to say if you fail to pay the rent, they will pay. They will also need to be credit checked as well, but assuming they pass it should all be fine.





The only other alternative if you can't get a guarantor, is to offer a much higher deposit than the figure they are asking for, to cover them if you fail to pay your rent on time.
Reply:First, check you credit report. Make sure that it is as bad as you think.





Second, if it is bad, then try to line up a so-signer.





Next, go to the owner or property manager of a property in which you are interested and tell them about your credit report and ask them if they would approve you given what is on there. Then ask if your cosigner would be adequate.





If they still say no, the ask how much rent you would have to pre-pay to make them comfortable and then come up with as much cash as you can.





Aside from all of that, you can look for a property being rented by an owner- not property manager- who doesn;t bother with credit reports.
Reply:My letting agent always takes up three references: bank, employer and previous landlord. If the last two are good, and the salary sufficient, neither my agent nor I would necessarily reject a tenant with a dodgy credit history. After all, the rent would be paid by direct debit each month, in advance.





Don't forget presentation: simple things like good manners, and a friendly, confident manner will often influence people as much as a reference. One prospective tenants was so rude and offhand with me I simply said "sorry, love" and found someone else. Far as I recall, her references were fine.
Reply:its not the end of the road but it wont help matters.





I have been bankrupt in the past (2001, so it ended 2004) but still managed to pass credit check on my house in 2006. They will take a lot of things into account, payment of previous rent and level of income will count heavily towards their decision.
Reply:I can't give you advice, but when we rented our flat, they pretty much just went on whether my boyfriend earned enough to pay the rent, even though they asked for bank details and the like. The only reference they checked was with his office to confirm his salary. He is starting to pay back his debts now but he has been really really bad at paying things in the past (he has no CCJ's though) and has let debt build up whilst ignoring it.





I can't say you'll be fine, but we thought we wouldn't be fine and we were!
Reply:you may have to get someone to sign as a guarantee for you.





dont be worried though, remember that what will be will be, no point in worrying as you will make yourself ill.





good luck!x
Reply:It depends on how thorough a check they will do. A check sometimes only means they need to see proof of employment and that you have a bank account. In other cases they can write to your bank for a reference - but as long as you have run your account relatively well then you should be ok. A lot of them dont do full credit checks as it costs money, and they feel that the "threat" of a credit check is enough to deter those less palatable. Just ride with it and see what the outcome is.........if you get turned down then at least you will know where you stand. In the meantime, check local newspapers for landlords advertising privately.