NoAgent, an online service charging landlords a fee to manage their properties, is the latest to offer a link between tenants’ rent payment records and credit score firm Experian.
Yesterday we reported that a new PropTech platform called Credit Builder was offering letting agencies the facility to link payments with Experian, following extensive recent publicity suggesting tenants with good payment records should be able to have that history counted towards their official creditworthiness.
Now NoAgent says it will send tenants’ payment histories to Experian.
"Rent is usually the largest regular payment in a household and should be the main indicator of creditworthiness. Yet tenants paying rent regularly don't see this reflected on their credit scores in the same way homeowners do with their mortgage payments. It's making it even harder for them to get on the ladder and it's simply not fair” says NoAgent’s chief executive, Calum Brannan.
"Historically, it's been easier for people who already own a home to build a credit history than those who want to get on the property ladder. Monthly mortgage payments were factored into credit scores, whereas rental payments were not considered. We felt it was time to give renters a level playing field” says Mark Goodfellow of Experian.
Last year saw a parliamentary debate following a 140,000-strong e-petition, the launch and second reading of Lord Bird's Creditworthiness Assessment Bill in the House of Lords.
At the beginning of the year the government launched a £2m initiative to find the best platform to record rental payments by tenants.
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If your agency is interested in having your tenants rent reported but you don't fancy sinking valuable time and resource into technology integration, maintenance, quality management and support then please do get in touch with us at CreditLadder. We have a free rent reporting service for agents that in partnered with Experian and requires just a few tweaks to your lettings process. There is no integration required.
This can help reduce rent arrears for you and your landlords, help your agency stand out from the competition whilst rewarding your tenants for what is their biggest expense. Visit www.creditladder.co.uk/agents for more information.
So how do tenants become registered if the agent refuses to or is just not interested?
Typically we find it's not an issue. They get their rent the same working day and it encourages on-time rent payments saving time chasing arrears. We have a new service launching next week that may be of interest. Contact help@creditladder.co.uk for more information. I'd be more than happy to keep you updated.
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