to rent a place through an agent

[peter_s]

I currently have an IVA, if i looking to rent a place through an agent and they do a credit check, will they find out i have an IVA and refuse to rent to me?

[Lisa2009]

Hi peter and welcome. Yes you probably will be credit checked and may be asked to pay a couple of months deposit if accepted.

[chris.g]

Hiya Peter and welcome. They will find out you're in an IVA as it will show on your credit file. The best thing is to be upfront with the agents then they can possibly work around it, hope this helps

[bluey875]

Be warned,a lot of agents use a company called 'homelet' as they offer an insurance service with a suitable credit report and agents and landlords alike take this report as gospel.it is not as homelet classify an IVA in the same category as a CCJ or BR when it isn't.Despite what you say to anyone, homelet will not change the outcome.i fell foul of this stupidity a few times and everytime they credit check you it costs YOU money,not the agent.
to avoid this would be difficult as the landlord would want more than a merely a month or two extra in advance,most i have spoken too want 12 MONTHS up front as well as a months deposit.try having a look on gumtree.com and rent privatley if homelet are to be involved,it will save you time and aggro in the long term.

[chris.g]

We rent direct with the landlord, it did save us a tidy sum and there wasn't any credit checks, even though I was honest and told the L/lord we were going bankrupt.

[Ellie May]

Peter

I was in the same situation mself recently and decided not to tell the letting agents. The let was approved and the IVA never mentioned.

[MelanieGiles]

They may well find that you are in an IVA, but this does not necessarily mean that you will not end up with a rental. With the amount of "To Let" signs there are up at the moment, some landlords cannot afford to be too choosy - although they may charge a higher deposit.

[SharonOR]

We have just been through this and not one agent would look at us. We needed a guarantor for the whole lease period and 3 months rent up front plus 2 month deposit. It was a nightmare until a friend of a friend gave us his house. I think we would have been out on the street otherwise. Despite us never having had rent arrears ever - it makes no difference.

[jojo]

Hi Peter, I recently had to move and as I rent was worried about this. When I realised they would do a credit check I was just honest and said I had an iva. The agent asked how long we'd been in the iva and when I said 2 1/2 years he said it probably wouldn't be a problem as we'd been in it for more than a year. He also said he'd recently dealt with someone else in an iva and their credit check was fine. We went ahead and no one mentioned anything more about the iva, just said all references etc were fine and we are now in new house. I think it does depend which company they use for the credit checks. Ours was done through FCC Paragon I think. Jo.

[chardonnay]

Hi Peter,
I can understand your anxiety on this one - that's why I'm trying so hard to find a solution that allows me to stay in my house for a bit longer until my IVA has been running a while and I have a chnce to try and find a deposit!! (My I & E, like evryone else doesn't leave one penny spare!!).
I think the open and honest approach may be good, but when it comes to me if I have to move soon, my OH hs agreed to rent in his name for me - with me paying the rent.
Good luck and please keep us informed on your progress,
Hugs,
Chardonnay

[debtmountain]

Hi Peter,

Just wanted to say hi and welcome. [:D]

Hope you find somewhere to Rent soon, must be very worrying for you.

Just got me thinking[?] Whether if you have no joy in finding anywhere, whether your local Housing Association could help as I'm not sure if they allow people in IVA's/Bankruptcy. Think I read somewhere that this isn't a problem (please someone quote me if I'm wrong)

Keep in Touch.

xx

[CJ08]

Does anyone know how much debt or other agreements like DMP get disclosed to the agent tbh i have a friend that does these checks with his agency and shouldnt be a problem for me but i feel he shouldnt know my exact amount of debt as its personal and clearly last 4 years ive paid plenty of rent and was rule no1 pay the rent and ultility bills rest comes later!

[Vincent Bond]

Usually the credit checks made by companies, whatever they are for, will either accept or decline. As such specific details of your situation are not disclosed.

Anything that can effect your credit rating from a missed payment all the way through to bankruptcy is recorded on this file, but when a check is made it will assess the data based on certain simple guidelines.

It's often a case of the computer saying yes or no !!