Hi I have an older couple who have applied for a house. One passed referencing, one didn’t -has 2 ccjs. Can I just issue tenancy to the one tenant only?
If not what are my options?
@Sharon10 you can do whatever you like but unless the single tenant can afford the rent on their own you are taking a bigger risk issuing to just her/him than to them both.
You could ask tenant about the ccjs and what caused the debts why it wasn’t paid and ended up with two CCJs, what they are doing to pay off debts.
Some CCJs can happen for relatively small amounts when people move address and post is sent to an old address eg parking tickets. Others can be when a partner runs up a debt. So understanding the cause amount etc will maybe give you an insight into whether it was carelessness or something else - if a previous LL was pursuing them for damage at a previous property that would be a red flag for me..
You can still issue to both but you may find it hard or harder to get rent gtee insurance
They could get a guarantor who does pass the referencing or pay a company to be a guarantor (such as RentGuarantor -but this costs tenants so may not be sensible if they are already struggling with affordability)
You could find a more suitable tenant
Good luck
I’d also be wary that the applicant didn’t declare their CCJs to you during the application process. I always ask prior to referencing. Having a CCJ isn’t an automatic disqualification for me (stuff happens) but saying they don’t have one and then me finding one would be.
If an applicant didn’t declare this freely prior to referencing, it would raise questions for me. Because the new RRA will likely make it more complicated to remove Ts with rent arrears, I would err on the side of caution and not proceed with this application. I would also inform them that in future, they should declare any CCJs at the start of the process to prevent anyone’s time (and money) being wasted if that is something the LL would not be OK with.
Never rush or compromise when finding new tenants. Ever.
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Thank you for the suggestions. Will try and find out about the ccjs before I make a decision. I just wasn’t sure what the options were and you have helped a lot.
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And, if so, you need to consider carefully whether you’re happy having a careless tenant.
The best RGI is being thorough in the application process and making sure your red lines aren’t crossed at any point.
All the best with it…
Absolutely. Have heard of people getting CCJs from parking ticket fine sent to old address & they somewhat carelessly didn’t get post forwarded, who only found out years later when tried to rent. In such a case think I might still consider if otherwise they could easily afford, had no debts and had a solid history of paying their rent on time.
Agree some LLs simply won’t accept anyone with a CCJ as a red line/rule tho.
Best
ah right… so it wouldn’t put you off because you consider them gullible/foolish/not careful with their £?
Well it’s not a plus point for sure. I’d want to at least hear their explanation- just like if you found something you weren’t sure about when looking at bank statements for otherwise prospectively good tenants you’d ask further? That’s the point of referencing to find out info and remember these are people who otherwise seem good enough so far to be worth enquiring about so have passed my previous gut /screening tests - unlike the random enquirers you get on OR. Do you rule out anyone with a CCJ even if it was a small amount eg a parking ticket ? I’d rather someone has a ccj 5 years ago paid the debt and was upfront than someone with ongoing debts who tried to hide it.
I do ask before referencing if there’s anything I should know before I do it so if I got an unexpected CCJ and they did appear to already know about it that (lying deliberately when asked a direct question about credit history) would be a big red flag to me.
Have also heard of people getting CCJs when ex partners ran up debts in their name. Foolish yes but maybe understandable.
Whereas paying £10 to OR without asking anybody if it’s worth it (either tenants or landlords) does seem definitely foolish to me. Maybe I shouldn’t find it off-putting, really, tho.
I also get put off somewhat by people who don’t read my ad properly or write their enquiries to me in txt spk. Maybe I shouldn’t and it’s irrational or prejudiced on my part
G morning to you!
The reference is waving a big red flag at you, cant you see it ??. Take them on and I guarantee you will have problems
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Is there a way to check the reason for CCJ? TT always play it down or say they contest it/going to contest it.
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with me. got a ccj ,got no let off me.
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