News Blog

Tenant rent payment recognition is likely to become standard after the matter was raised in Parliament this week.

During Prime Minister’s Questions, former cabinet minister Justine Greening raised the Creditworthiness Bill – due to be read in the Commons today.

Greening noted that MPs across the political spectrum want to see rental payments contribute towards credit worthiness, just as prompt mortgage payments do.

Experian, which issues credit reports, said that it is now taking into account the rent payment habits of over 1.2m tenants.

It also said that rental data is appearing on tenants’ statutory credit reports and that 79% of tenants who report their rental income to Experian see a noticeable improvement in their credit scores.

CreditLadder works with over 2,500 letting agent branches to report verified rent payments to Experian.

CreditLadder CEO Sheraz Dar said: As the first and largest of the players offering rent recognition to people who rent, we are proud to play our part in helping responsible tenants gain equal access to affordable credit both now and increasingly so in the future.”

Lord Bird’s Creditworthiness Assessment Bill is due to be read in the Commons after it passed through the House of Lords with no amendments.

The Bill aims to make it a requirement for credit providers to take into account of both rental and council tax payment history.