Rent Payments and Credit Ratings: A Legislative Change on the Horizon

Do you always pay your rent on time? If so, your on-time payments could soon improve your credit rating in the same way homeowners benefit by keeping up their mortgage payments. The Creditworthiness Assessment Bill, now going through Parliament, will enshrine this in law. The Bill requires certain matters to be taken into account when assessing a borrower's creditworthiness, and once enacted hopefully in 2019 for the first time, credit providers will have to include your rental and council tax payment history when calculating your credit score.

Enhancing Credit Visibility: The Future of Rental Payments in Credit Reports

At the moment, timely rental payments aren't necessarily reflected in people's credit reports, but hopefully, this is all about to change. The Bill, put forward by Big Issue founder Lord Bird, has cross-party backing in the House of Commons and had its second reading in October. The change won't only work in tenants' favor, but it will also be good news for landlords. The Residential Landlords Association says 61% of landlords support the move; it believes including rent payments in your credit rating will also make it easier for landlords to assess a prospective tenant's credit and rent payment history more accurately. That would make it more straightforward for people with a good credit record to find rental property quickly and easily.

Transforming Tenancy: The Impact of Rent Worthiness on UK Households

This bill is long, long overdue. With rental and/or mortgage payments being the largest and arguably most important outgoing for UK households, it has always been unfair to tenants that they have been denied the ability to have their 'rent worthiness' considered. Latest estimates show that around 5.4 million UK households rent, so once this legislation is enacted, it will make a big difference too many people's lives whether they wish to prove their creditworthiness to a prospective landlord, buy a new car, or take out a bank loan. It will open fairer access to more affordable credit to a wider pool of responsible borrowers and prevent people from falling into the high-cost-credit poverty trap.

The Importance of Tenant Trustworthiness: Insights from a Recent Survey

Your Move's Landlord Survey, which recently polled 1,071 landlords and tenants to learn more about their portfolios, behaviors, and attitudes towards tenants, agents, and the lettings market, shows that landlords vote trustworthiness as the most important quality in tenants. About a quarter (26%) of landlords surveyed rate tenants who pay on time as the most important consideration. PlanetRent (created by the Ringley Group) will soon make rent-worthiness data available to support tenants and landlords. PlanetRent is lettings be automated for landlords who want paperless deals, advertising, landlord websites, compliance sorted, protection from fines, and the whole audit trail completely taken care of. To find out more, go to PlanetRent.co.uk