What landlords see when they run a tenant credit check

Around one in five households in the UK rent privately, which works out to roughly 4.7 million rented homes. And the market is bursting with renters, with an average of 21 people chasing every single advertised rental property in the UK.

If you're lucky enough to find a property you want and make it to the top of the list, you may then have to contend with a tenant credit check, which can feel nerve-racking. Much of the worry comes from misunderstanding what landlords actually see when running a credit check. In reality, a landlord carrying out a credit check is focused on affordability, not scrutinising your income and outgoings or questioning why you have a weekly takeaway.

In this article, we cover what a credit check is for tenants and what landlords can actually see.

What is a tenant credit check?

A tenant credit check is part of the screening process for landlords and letting agents. Standard tenant checks use soft searches of your credit report via credit reference agencies like Experian, Equifax, or TransUnion.

Landlords also commonly run employment checks and additional affordability checks alongside credit history checks.

You should always be notified before a landlord or letting agent runs a credit search, giving you time to check your credit file and correct any errors.

Why landlords and letting agents run them

A credit check helps landlords and letting agents verify your identity and confirm that the address history you’ve provided to them is correct. It also helps to uncover financial warning signs that may signal the renter could have difficulty keeping up with their rent payments. Landlords want confidence that a tenant will be able to meet their monthly rent obligations consistently. 

Financial warning signs that may raise affordability concerns could include County Court Judgements (CCJs), bankruptcies, and other insolvency records that suggest you experienced serious financial difficulties in the past six years.

Having a CCJ or bankruptcy doesn't mean you'll be automatically rejected, especially if it was years ago. Always be open and honest about the situation, and provide as much additional evidence as possible, such as more income evidence than requested, that proves that you're now financially stable.

Does a tenant credit check affect your credit score?

No, because a tenant credit check is a soft search, it doesn't affect your credit score.

A landlord's standard tenant credit check doesn't give them unrestricted access to your credit report. Applying to rent several properties and undergoing multiple standard soft credit checks also won't damage your credit score, and landlords won't see your credit score when they run a check.

A soft search may appear in your own credit report history, but other lenders generally can't see it.

What does a landlord see on your credit file?

Because landlords only run a soft search on your credit file, they can see only a limited (but sufficient) amount of your information.

What's included? 

Lenders can see the public information on your report, which includes:

• Your Electoral Roll listing.

• County Court Judgements (CCJs).

• Insolvencies.

• Bankruptcies.

The exact information returned depends on the credit reference agency they’ve used and its permitted access.

What's not included?

Most of the information you can see on your credit report won't be visible to a landlord or letting agency. For example, they can't see:

• Your credit score.

• Your credit card balances and limits.

• Your repayment history and missed payments.

• Defaults on ordinary credit accounts.

You could have a low credit score because of high credit utilisation or previous missed credit-card payments, but those specific details aren't visible to a landlord running a standard tenant credit check.

If you authorise access to additional financial information or provide supporting documents, the landlord may see much more. 

Find out more about how to rent with a low credit score. 

What happens in a credit check on a rental application?

Most landlords and letting agents follow a similar step-by-step process when running a credit check for a rental application.

Credit checks

Once you give permission, the landlord or letting agent arranges the search. They will usually use a referencing provider, which can check information held by one or more credit reference agencies. The provider may return a risk assessment or recommendation based on the available information.

Affordability checks

Affordability checks have nothing to do with checking your credit report, except that a credit report can reveal whether you've had financial difficulties, such as a CCJ or bankruptcy, within the previous six years.

Affordability checks focus on current financial circumstances. Landlords may ask you to provide:

• Recent payslips (usually the previous three months).

• An employment contract or salary confirmation.

• Recent bank statements (again, usually three months).

• Tax returns or evidence of earnings for self-employed applicants.

• Evidence of other regular income or savings.

What they actually ask for differs from one landlord or agent to another. Some modern referencing services can verify earnings using secure Open Banking connections, HMRC data or payroll information.

A common affordability requirement is annual income of at least 2.5 times the annual rent, but some landlords or referencing services may apply a higher threshold.

References

Landlords can ask for references from a previous landlord, but it's not essential for first-time renters.

Sometimes, landlords or letting agents can ask for an employer reference. This is both in order to verify that you work for the employer stated in the application and to confirm that your income and employment status match what you’ve described.

How long does a tenant credit check take?

A tenant credit check is usually quick once you've given permission. A basic tenant credit search is usually processed electronically and can return results almost immediately.

Still, it depends on the landlord or letting agent and how long they take to run the check. You can always ask how long the process is estimated to take.

Delays are common, especially if there’s an error in any of the documents you’ve submitted or the financial information you provide requires manual review.

Why you might fail a rental credit check

Several reasons could cause you to fail a rental credit check. Some of the most common reasons include:

• County Court Judgements (though you're not automatically exempt).

• Bankruptcy or insolvency (again, you're not automatically exempt).

• Insufficient income.

• Problems verifying identity.

• Electoral Roll discrepancies.

• Unfavourable landlord references.

• Unverifiable employment.

• Limited UK credit history.

Even if a credit check flags potential financial risk, you may still be offered a rental contract if you can provide a suitable guarantor, or the landlord may provide another way you can prove your financial stability.

Take control of your credit file with Checkmyfile

At Checkmyfile, we've made it easy for you to take control of your credit file and understand exactly what's on your report before agreeing to a tenant credit check. 

Landlords can request a credit report from any of the three main CRAs in the UK, so our credit reference service combines reports from Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion into a single dashboard. That way, you can be confident you're seeing exactly what a landlord may see.

Sign up today and get a 7-day free trial, then it’s £14.99 a month. Cancel online anytime.