Brilliant! Thank you!
3x rent but do you mean Gross or Net income ?
Just to give you a different perspective. I am a landlord and let 2 properties. I consider myself a 5 star landlord as I always respond with 24 hours I do all the management myself and after 5 years of doing it myself I’ve had a brilliant relationship with all my tenants. However, I have numerous CCJs, and credit defaults. I would not be eligible to rent off a private landlord but I am actually of good character. My debts came from negligent builders on my personal property and it got me into so much debt trying to get repairs done and fleeced time and time again I couldn’t raise any more money to finish the house so I bought into an investment plan which in theory should have got me out of trouble. it was Harlequin Property and long story short I lost a fortune as it turned out to be a complete fraud. My properties are in negative equity due to this. So just because I have bad credit doesn’t mean I’m unreliable and its a stain I can’t get rid of mostly through no fault of my own. Just so you don’t tar everyone with the same brush. I would be too scared to take someone with ccjs after what I’ve been through but I always feel, if that was me trying to rent somewhere I would be homeless.
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I always ask anyone with a ccj to explain it and have accepted people who have seen verifiable reason such as yours.
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I would almost definitely take the family after speaking to them and getting my own gut feeling however, I would take them on the basis that rent is payable on a monthly basis 6 months in advance so that are paying rent monthly so that they are always 6 months in advance. When they give a notice you pay the balance of the rent back to them at the end of the tenancy. I have done this sort of thing numerous times without a problem.
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Hi Russell, i’m looking for so me advice, it’s for a commercial property, but it’s rented none the less, i haven’t done any viewings before so not sure what to ask the potential tenant to be sure that they are suitable, can you help me with what i need to ask them to be sure they’re ok, thanks
I rent out commercial properties . Apart from asking about earnings I want to know what experience they have ,about their business sense, their business plans, do they have other income in the household, Is the location suitable for what they want to do? Just because you open a business does not mean everyone will flock to your door…
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Hi Collin, that all sounds like common sense stuff, I am about to sign a women and her partner to sell flowers, she’s done it since she was 15, she’s selling online at present and to a retail store well known online well so she says, she has no landlord references as he’s moved to Australia, can I ask how do I run a suitable credit check and what would be a deal breaker, I’m also contracting out the lease, do you have any experience with leases as I need somebody to check the one I’ve done thanks for the advice
Ask for the landlords details anyway and ask to see a contract and proof of payment.
How convenient that the Landlord has moved to Australia!!
No email, no social media, no phone etc This is the 21st century.
That is a red flag in itself
I asked for a Landlord reference and was told she was Cypriot and did not speak English. So I asked for the reference before that. They did not reply. I did not take the Tenants
If she is selling on line she will have a contract ask to see her bank statements and evidence of her contracts with this well known store
whatever she has told you she needs to back up with paperwork
If she can’t walk away
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selling since 15 so must have Business accounts every year . Ask to see the last 6 years so you can see growth hopefully… So two people will be signed up . That sounds good. Do they have other jobs ? Are they self employed? I have been self employed for 50 years and have 3 jobs , so it is not unusual. S/E have to keep accounts for min 6 years PS. .also a small business premesis can be exempt from commercial rates which is a big help for them
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Under those terms I wouldn’t qualify to rent my own flat.
the way prices are shooting up I would not qualify to buy the house i now live in.!
To get a CCJ the person you owe has to take you to court and win,imagine the agravation, your given a month to pay them if you do no CCJ, you then decide not to pay them so you get a CCJ. Times that by 3 and its plain to me your 99% as dodgy as they come.I have a tenant with 2 CCJ, as soon as covid hit, he was furloughed but tried to not pay. Fortunatley his parents are the Guarantors, a polite reminder made him behave. CCJ = No Way.
It’s a real relief to see someone not being so judgemental.!! I hope all these landlords on here that are so judgemental never fall on times that may may it impossible at that time to pay previous debt back.
I am in my 40s. I had a mortgage in my 30s with an emotionally abusive partner. He was out of work many times and pretty much forced me to get credit for him (although this would be hard to prove). I then when I eventually decided to leave him and I lived 250 miles away from my family also found out I had a malignant melanoma and due to the finical crash also lost my business. I owed HMRC plus some of the debt from him. I then got 3 CCJs 4 years later. They sent them to my old address and I never knew I had them but even if I did I would not have had the money to pay them back at this time and needed to concentrate on my health too. After another 4/5 years I am getting back on track. I still have the 3 CCJs but my credit rating since then is much improved. I have applied for the duplicate one to be removed and have spoken to the creditors or court about my ex. However I cannot get them removed until the end. My health at that time was my main concern.
Since I moved back in with family even though I am in my 40s work for a charity and have just done a part time masters. However I am now ready to move on and need to get my own place being my age. But after reading this it looks like I won’t be able to rent by everyone that is so judgemental. I can provide rent upfront but not because o have loads of money sat round because my family trust me enough to loan it to me and are happy that I pay them back instead.
When I received these CCJs not only had I just left an emotionally abusive relationship, had skin cancer, lost my business and had no income at the time for quite sometime actually. People can go through hard times and sort themselves out again is what I am saying. I understand landlords need to protect themselves too but I think many on here are extremely judgemental and do not give me any hope what so ever. It’s likely that if I cannot find someone to rent I am going to become homeless and yes I can stay with family on different sofas but that is no way to live either.
Some people need to not judge so quickly.
there is always an exception to the rule, you sound like such a person, fully explaining all that to a landlord would be a big help
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Hi I’m sorry to hear your story. Your story could be me and I often think how I would fail credit tests even though I’m a landlord myself. Tell your future landlord your history with ur application that will help. I wish u luck.
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Thank you. I have explained that all to one and even have the estate agent was fully behind me telling them how they completely felt I would be a great tenant for them from meeting me in person and had just had bad luck in my life however they said no.
Even before seeing any references for my employment etc or performing a credit check. So I have now moved onto another 2 and waiting for there response.
If my credit file was checked in full they would see that in the past 6 years since my CCJs from my troubled time. I have never had one missed payment or default on anything. My credit rating is now deemed as stable which has taken me years to rebuild. Once the CCJs are gone it will become good to excellent. My point being is that some CCJs that are 5/6 years old could also be from debt over 10 years ago. It could be that people were young and reckless and have since grown up. As you say I think Landlords should take that into consideration and not be so quick to tar everyone with the same brush. People are more reckless when young and some people just fall on very hard times at different points in life. I just earn an average salary but enough to pay for somewhere to live. Getting a mortgage these days is extremely difficult with the deposits you need and if your single and only have one salary an average one it’s unlikely you will get one. My worry is more and more people are going to be homeless because they aren’t given a second chance in life even when it’s been things completely out of there control.
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Thanks so much and I will. I have tried and awaiting a response from 2 so fingers crossed someone gives me a chance to show that not all people with CCJs from there past will make bad tenants. I am sure some do but I bet there are plenty of bad tenants with a clean credit history too.
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Summary of Key Points mentioned in this blog up until 13/1/2022, written as I mistakenly thought OR wanted it at the beginning of this blog, where it says “Summary”:
13/1/22 from Advice needed - tenant has CCJ but willing to pay upfront
HAVING THEM - don’t is the unanimous response
Red flags:
- Family of 4 living with parents is a red flag. Where did they live prior to living with parents?
- If they can pay 12m upfront, why don’t they pay off their CCJ debt? “If someone has a means to pay a CCJ but hasn’t, that’s a reflection of attitude and how they will treat a tenancy.”
- Previous landlord has moved overseas. Ask for the landlord’s details anyway, and ask to see a contract and proof of payment!
One remarked, “Everyone can avoid a CCJ. … if you pay within the month you don’t get a CCJ. So I raised a loan to pay it off, I have now paid the loan.”
However, through no fault of their own, due to family abuse or other issues, one can end up with CCJs, especially if they are sent to their old address, so they never knew they had them until years later, and even if they did know what was happening, their personal circumstances may mean they did not have the money to pay at that time.
So, in cases like this, always ask anyone with a CCJ to explain what happened, and on that basis, some landlords have accepted people once they have seen verifiable reasons for the CCJs.
Whatever they tell you, they need to back it up with paperwork.
Do they have a guarantor?
“Do full referencing, which should pick up what the CCJ was for. If it turns out to be for rent arrears, I wouldn’t contemplate it.”
The following checks are extremely intrusive and are only really justifiable if you are serious about the possibility of accepting them:
- Ask the employer for a reference including their current address. If they are self employed, ask for the last return they submitted.
- Ask for Bank Statements for the last 6-12 months. This will show you if they are paying off the CCJ, and it will confirm their address, etc.
- If the CCJs are for unpaid loans, I would also ask for credit card statements to check their spending patterns.
If they want to run a business from the premises: “Apart from asking about earnings I want to know what experience they have, about their business sense, their business plans, do they have other income in the household, Is the location suitable for what they want to do? Just because you open a business does not mean everyone will flock to your door”. If they have been selling before to other companies, ask to see their bank statements and evidence of their contracts with those companies. Ask to see the last 6 years, so you can see growth hopefully.
UP FRONT PAYMENTS:
“If you decide to take the rent I would advise 12 months if they are offering (hopefully we may get back to a 2 month notice by then too). The contract reads rent paid monthly on date x. Do not document a 12 month rental period (it will prohibit serving a section 21) and if it goes onto a periodic rent is paid monthly.
Tenant has paid 11 months and one month (do not document as 12 months) so you may want to defer the 12th month till the time of the 12th month, ie take 11 months. Take legal advice on how to word the contract so you don’t shoot yourself in the foot if you need to serve a s21.”
"I used the RNLA agreement And in the section for "“extra remarks put in that six months are paid up front and dated it . Then wrote in, that on the 7 th month at xxx date the. rent is paid MONTHLY from then on.”
One person suggested “I would take them on the basis that rent is payable on a monthly basis 6 months in advance so that are paying rent monthly so that they are always 6 months in advance.” However, this came with the warning, “It is likely that the 6 months rent will be regarded by a court as an illegal and unprotected deposit if you also take rent payments from the start. You will be liable to a penalty of up to 3x the value of that deposit.”
OPENRENT SCREENING
“OR decided for me that I have to switch their tenant screening service on after 30 enquiries, since then enquiries have dried up.” Talk to OR, otherwise, apply tenant screening from the outset in a changed ad, e.g. net “income” must be at least xx <e.g. 3x rent>. Publish your revitalised ad on Friday afternoon. It really is better to wait than take on a tenant you’re not happy with.
CONCLUSION AND A SUCCESS STORY
“Better to wait for the right applicant and have the property empty for a few months than run the risk of no rent for months and months anll the stress and upset that comes with it.”
However, one landlord wrote: “I did take on a tenant ( with a family) who had a CCJ- he did have a good reference from previous landlord of paying ( I saw evidence) and saw both his working wife and his bank statements and wage slips and he also provided a working home owner guarantor. He has been a model tenant.”
How about abusive relationships, only way to get away from him?! Having no income due to starting a business in 2007 during the financial crash and losing it.! At the same time finding out you have cancer.!! Stop being so JUDGEMENTAL.!! And pray you don’t go through such times.!! Or be happy you have never had to