I understand the gravity of the situation, when renting with a CCJ its tough and next to impossible to find landlord/landlady who will to allow you to rent.
We have found ourselves in a situation where landlady has passed away, family wishing to sell the house the came around sunday to tell us the intentions to sell, due to us being good tentants they wanted to warn us, they have no timeline when eviction will be served due to probate (which can take months at the moment). We have lived here 7 years, always been on time with rent.
I did a credit check last night, and found out i have an unresolved CCJ from 2020, i was shocked, but i am not here for judgement just want advice on a solution! I am looking to pay the CCJ off in full in the next month or two, so its satisifed but i understand stays on credit file for 6-years even once paid. Question is, is it more appealing to a landlord/landlady if the CCJ is paid off, and provide said proof then keeping it on file and paying monthly.
We can offer employment ref, bank statements etc to secure a home but just want to get some advice from people with whats best to deal with this. I understand CCJ is a NO GO for alot of people and i understand completely but want to see if there is anything can do to soften the blow when coming to renting as such.
I’ve had tenants with paid off CCJs and they’ve been trustworthy throughout the tenancies. I always ask applicants if I’ll find anything if I go digging. That gives them a chance to fess up and tell me the truth. If they don’t, they’re out of the running immediately. If they do, I can make a decision on a case by case basis. In your situation, although I’d be glad to see you paid it as soon as you became aware, I’d be asking why you weren’t aware of it at all.
Ofc i would be more than happy to explain to landlords the situation regarding the CCJ, ex partner taking multiple loans etc out in my name talking many years ago and the CCJ was produced in 2020, honestly thought had all been cleared. Yes, i should have been more in top of checking my credit file but until now not needed a credit check in recent years as haven’t looked at taking loans out etc but yes ex partner caused hellish time. I will be wanting to clear CCJ ASAP and chasing him for the money! Honestly thought was the end of it, but seems to still be chasing me after almost 8 years! Thank you for the reply!!!
Thank you for the reply, i understand a CCJ is a huge red flag for landlords, but hoping if its satisfied it will make the process not easier but some what less impossible!
I use rent insurance, which relies on the tenant passing the credit check (which has its own costs)… so it’s unlikely I’d put forward someone with a ccj when there’s generally a lot of people applying.
I suspect I’m not alone on that. I guess it depends more on the ratio of rentals/tenants in your area.
I had exactly this scenario from an applicant who I did give the tenancy to. She was a model tenant. So, that should give you hope that there are some of us out there who can give you a tenancy and are willing to also.
Hmm. If an ex applied fraudulently for these loans in your name, it should not have been necessary to pay them off. It have should been possible to get the CCJ overturned, and removed from your record. However it sounds like you agreed to accept liability for them at some time in the past? If so then it is perhaps too late to overturn it. It might be worth getting some advice though, from a citizen’s advice bureau or something - especially if there are any more such debts that you previously didn’t know about. (edited to add): Additionally, if the courts think you were liable you may have some difficulty claiming to a landlord that you weren’t. Be prepared to say why you accepted liability.
If you don’t have any luck renting, you can always try lodging. Lodger landlords have less financial risk because the notice period is 1 payment period. Probably not what you want but it’s there as a fallback. However, in areas with fully restricted HMO licencing, a lodger landlord is likely to only be able to take 2 people, so that only helps if you are not a family.
I think better to pay it off completely and as quickly as possible. If it is paid of in small dribs and drabs It suggests you are struggling financially.
I had this situation recently. A prospective tenant said they were earning 80k but would I consider a CCJ? I said yes but it turned out it was for £509 and unsatisfied. I asked them why on 80k they hadn’t paid it off? They withdrew their application.
Hi everyone, keen to get some opinions of landlords around a CCJ I received a couple of years back.
This was for a parking fine but all letters were sent to a previous address and I didn’t find out about it until around 3 months after. I immediately paid off the CCJ and it was satisfied.
I received this CCJ whilst I was already renting but I am now concerned that it is going to impact my chances of being accepted.
Would this be a significant issue for you if a tenant was in this situation and is there anything I can do to help mitigate the risk for any future landlords?
I guess it shows poor organisation. ie. it would suggest to me that you did not promptly change the car’s registered address with DVLA, as had you done so, the fine details would have been sent to the correct address, giving you chance to pay the fine before it went to court.
It therefore may put off some Landlords, but as @Colin3 suggests, show them the letters/ proof etc, and be upfront.
Thanks for the advice @Colin3 and @Karl11 and yes it’s frustrating how easily this could have been avoided and does not provide a good first impression of reliability from me
Just an update on this for anyone who was in a similar situation. I told all estate agents about my CCJ as soon as possible to ensure I was not wasting anyone’s time with viewings in case the landlord did not want CCJ tenants.
I have now found a place and the satisfied status and small settlement fee of my CCJ have not been an issue. Whilst I explained to the estate what happened, the referencing agent (good lord) did not ask for any details, just the date and value of the CCJ.
So key takeaway, if the CCJ is satisfied and is a small amount (mine was just under £300) it may not be a huge issue but should be mentioned ASAP.