A survey of almost 3,000 landlords carried out by the Residential Landlords Association (RLA) which found that 61% of landlords would support such a move.
Landlords are calling for rent payments to be included when calculating credit scores as a way of supporting tenants when they want to buy their own home.
A survey of almost 3,000 landlords carried out by the Residential Landlords Association (RLA) which found that 61% of landlords would support such a move.
RLA chairman Alan Ward said:“With many tenants wanting to buy a house of their own, it is absurd rent payment is not routinely included when undertaking credit checks for mortgage applications.
“Moving to such a scheme would help not just tenants, but also landlords by giving them a clearer sense of whether a prospective tenant has historically paid their rent in full and on time.”
At present, credit rating agencies do not routinely include rent payment history when calculating credit scores. This means a tenant can find it difficult to access a mortgage, even if they have a long history of rent being paid in full and on time.
Including rent payment in this way would also support landlords, providing them with a more accurate assessment of a prospective tenant’s credit and rent payment history.
The RLA is writing to the government calling on it to work with the industry to include rent payment history as a standard feature when calculating credit scores.
