Renting with a poor credit history

There is no minimum credit score for private renting, and a poor credit history does not automatically shut you out of a tenancy. Landlords and letting agents run their own checks, and they need your permission to look at your credit history when you apply to rent¹. What they are usually weighing up is affordability and reliability, not a number.

The bigger problem is often what a bad credit rating does elsewhere. It can affect your ability to rent a home, get a mobile phone contract or anything else that requires a credit check, and it will make it more expensive and harder to borrow money². Some landlords and rental companies do credit checks and may not rent to you if you have bad credit³.

The good news is that the things that most worry renters are often misunderstood. Missed rent payments do not appear on a standard credit check¹, and there is no single credit score that every landlord sees. What follows is what is actually checked, how long problems last, and the options that can improve your chances.

There is no single credit score: each agency and lender judges you differently

There is no such thing as a universal credit score, and each lender has its own system⁸. A landlord or letting agent does not see a score at all in the way a credit card advert suggests. They see the information on your credit file, and they apply their own rules to it.

The three main consumer credit reference agencies in the UK are Experian, Equifax and TransUnion⁹. Each agency gets different information from lenders, which means your credit file may not look the same at each one¹⁰. They do not always have the same information about your credit score⁴.

That matters when you are renting because a letting agent may check one agency and see a different picture from another. It also means a low score at one agency is not the final word. If you are checking your own file, it is worth looking at more than one, and our guide to the UK credit reference agencies explains how they differ.

Smaller private landlords and letting agents can also check public records, and they do not need your consent to do this⁵. Public records include things like court judgments and insolvency entries, which are a matter of public record rather than something held only on your credit file.

What harms your credit file, and for how long

The entries that cause the most trouble when renting are the ones that stay longest. Late payments stay on your credit history for six years, as do missed payments and defaults¹¹. Some information stays on your credit file for six years, like missed payments, defaults and court judgments⁵.

Information such as missed payments, default notices and court judgments will generally stay on your credit file for six years¹². A default will stay on the consumer's credit file for six years¹³. If you have fallen behind with your mortgage, this will show as a default on your credit file and will stay on there for six years¹⁴.

It could be hard to find a private rented home if you have an individual voluntary arrangement (IVA), a debt relief order (DRO), missed payments for loans or credit cards, a county court judgment (CCJ), or have been declared bankrupt⁴. Details of a CCJ are added to your credit history for six years¹⁶. In England and Wales this is a county court judgment, in Scotland a decree, and in Northern Ireland a money judgment¹⁶.

Court fines work slightly differently. If a fine is registered, it stays on your credit history for five years and might stop you getting credit in future¹⁷.

Checking your own credit file before you apply

You can check your own credit score as often as you like without doing any harm¹⁸. Checking it yourself is not the same as a lender searching your file, and it leaves no mark that other lenders can see.

Your credit report includes your name, address and date of birth, whether you are on the electoral roll at your current address, how much you owe, late and missed payments, CCJs, repossession, bankruptcy or an IVA¹⁹. You can check it through Experian, Credit Karma or Equifax²⁰. Our guide to how to check your credit report for free sets out the options.

Before you apply for a tenancy, it is worth checking your file and correcting any errors. Lenders check your credit file for details of your debts when they carry out an affordability check²¹, and a landlord or letting agent will look at the same kind of information. If something on your file is wrong, you can ask for it to be corrected, and our guide to correcting wrong information on your credit report explains how.

If you are applying with someone else, remember that lenders will run a credit check on each applicant before granting a mortgage, and if one party has a poor credit score it could impact the lender's decision²². The same principle applies to joint tenancies: a landlord may look at both applicants.

How to improve your credit history: bills in your name, the electoral register and credit use

The steps that improve a credit score are well established. They include paying back any credit you have borrowed, registering on the electoral roll, checking your credit report to make sure it is correct, and making sure your credit file is not linked to somebody with a poor credit score³.

For someone with no credit history, being on the electoral register and having bills in your name is a great start, and it is worth considering a credit-builder card or small loan²³. Opening a bank account, taking out a credit card and paying it off in full every month, getting a mobile phone contract and keeping up with payments, being on the electoral roll, and making sure all the information on your record is correct all help build a credit history²⁴.

Being on the electoral register is one way your identity and home address can be confirmed, which could help to improve your credit score²⁵. Lenders will use the electoral register to check your name, address and where you have lived before, and not being registered could cause a delay or result in your application being turned down²³. Not being on the electoral roll or making a late payment negatively affects your score regardless of the agency¹⁸.

If you are opening a current account, register to vote with your local council as some banks use this as part of their checks, and check your credit score and correct any errors before applying²⁶. Banks often check your credit rating when you open a current account and can refuse an application based on credit history²⁷.

Can rent payments help build my credit history?

Standard credit checks will not show if you have missed rent payments in the past¹. That cuts both ways: a history of paying rent on time has not traditionally counted in your favour either, because rent payments were not reported to the credit reference agencies.

That is changing. Some rent reporting services now send rent payments to a credit reference agency, which can help build a credit history. Our guide to rent payments and your credit file explains how rent reporting works and what it does and does not do.

If you are on a low income, Universal Credit or housing benefit could help with rent¹. Letting agents and landlords should not refuse to rent to you because you claim benefits²⁸. Our guide to benefits and your credit file covers how claiming benefits interacts with your credit record.

Where a poor score cannot be held against you

There are limits on what a landlord, letting agent or lender can do with your credit history. Credit card providers are not allowed to refuse to give you credit just because of your race, sex, disability, religion, sexuality or where you live²⁹. Letting agents and landlords should not refuse to rent to you because you claim benefits²⁸.

The previous occupants of your home cannot affect your credit score³⁰. If you move into a property where a former tenant had poor credit, that does not transfer to you.

In some areas of Scotland, rental deposit (bond) schemes are available to people on low incomes or benefits. Under the scheme you do not have to pay a deposit up front and the tenancy agreement is with a landlord from an approved list³¹. If you owe rent to an old landlord that you no longer have a tenancy with, it is no longer a priority debt, and can be treated like a credit card or unsecured loan debt³².

If you are struggling with debt, free and impartial help is available. StepChange, National Debtline and Citizens Advice all offer free debt advice, and our guide to debt solutions and your credit file explains the options.

If I am turned down once, will every application be declined?

No, but repeated applications can make things harder. Any failed application reduces your credit rating, which is called the rejection spiral³. If you apply for a mortgage and the lender rejects you, it will be recorded on your credit file³³.

Before applying again, it is worth checking your report and correcting any errors, and considering an eligibility checker so you can see your chances before a full application is made. Our guide to credit eligibility checkers explains how they work and whether they affect your score.

How long does it take to improve a poor credit score?

It depends on your starting point. It takes six to 12 months of paying on time for someone who has never officially borrowed before to improve their credit score⁷. If you have completed a debt management plan, you may have to spend more than a year repairing your credit history before being able to apply for a mortgage³⁴.

Most lenders register and update credit account information with the credit reference agencies once a month³⁰. Your Experian Credit Report updates every 30 days with a free account, or daily with CreditExpert³⁵. Because updates are not instant, a recent payment or a recently cleared debt may not appear immediately.

Does my credit history from another country count in the UK?

No. While you may have a good credit history overseas, this will not help you in the UK and you will have to build your UK credit history from scratch³⁶. Credit scores from one country do not usually count in another¹.

If you are new to the UK, opening a UK bank account, registering to vote and taking out a small credit product you repay in full can start building a UK file. Our guide to building a credit history from scratch sets out the steps.