It’s been a while since I last visited this topic, which was to provide some objective and general overview about how landlords and letting agents use referencing agencies to obtain details of a prospective tenant’s credit file.

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However, with the rising demand for rented accommodation, increasingly we are dealing with clients who have been impacted by a default judgment CCJ discovered on a credit report.  Either the client has been aware judgment’s existence, or it has recently come to light following the landlord’s referencing prior to entering a tenancy contract.

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Of course, if you are a professional looking to secure new accommodation or a business owner in the process of completing on a business premises or a business practice with a service charge, a stalled transaction due to a county court judgement will have a profound effect on your future plans placing you into an awkward position.

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For this reason, I have felt compelled to advise that all hope of securing rented premises should not be lost. There are ways that you can mitigate your situation to secure rented premises should you find a judgment debt CCJ on your personal or business credit file and repair it in the process.

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Let me show you how.

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Landlord not willing to grant a tenancy

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Let’s face it reference agencies treat your credit report as a financial passport. To get an understanding of the impact a CCJ can have on renters looking to rent property to live, a recent government survey cited that 78% of landlords are unwilling to let to a prospective tenant with CCJs. The English Private Landlord survey cited the common reason amongst landlords that there is a perceived greater risk of delays in payment or unpaid rent.

 

Here are few important steps that you can take to mitigate your situation where there is an existing judgment debt.

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Decide whether you owe the debt or not. You are aware of the CCJ and accept the debt

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If you accept the judgment debt:

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• contact the Claimant plan to pay off the full amount. You can get the record of the CCJ marked as satisfied on the Register

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• If the judgment debt has been granted to the Claimant within the last 30 days, take steps to pay it off immediately before the expiry of 30 days. The CCJ will not how up on your personal or business credit file

 

• If you pay the full amount of the CCJ after one month of receiving it, you can get the record of the CCJ marked as satisfied on the Register and marked on your credit file.

 

• Whilst waiting for the Certificate I would encourage you to communicate to the existence of the county court judgment to the landlord or letting agent. Provide evidence that the debt has been settled. 

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You are aware of the CCJ and dispute the debt

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First and foremost, advance with a proactive stance by

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• Acting swiftly to notify the Claimant of your reasons for challenging the CCJ

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• Gather evidence of correspondence, proof of payments or any documents that demonstrate that you have a valid defence

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• You will have to go back to court to present an application for a judge to determine whether you should be granted leave to set aside the county court judgment CCJ. You can read in more detail a guide on how to make an application for the removal of a CCJ here

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• In the meantime, it will be important to share this information with the prospective landlord or letting agent of the efforts you are making to address the issue of the CCJ revealed during the landlord’s search. In our experience we have found this method to be a constructive pathway to completing on a tenancy or letting to rent or lease despite the existence of the judgment debt.

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For example, we assisted a dental practice with the removal of a disputed default judgment CCJ. When the client came to us, they were in the process of completing a new business lease. Our client was unaware of the existence of a county court judgment for alleged rental arrears owed to a Claimant regarding a previous business address. A mark on their business credit file was flagged up during a landlord’s reference search.

Our client contended that they had not receive any correspondence or the Claim Form before or after the commencement of the legal proceedings by the Claimant.

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We contacted the Claimant to acknowledge the incorrect issuance of the Claim Form to agree that the CCJ should be set aside, with no order as to costs. The Claimant accepted with evidence our client’s claim. The matter was amicably settled by way an agreement. Our client’s business file was repaired with the removal of the CCJ by the court, keeping it intact.

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In the meantime, fundamentally, we were able to keep the prospective landlord of the abreast of the negotiation developments throughout, which they appreciated. The result was a successful outcome. Our client secured the business lease, preventing any further unnecessary expenses or delay.

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You can read in more detail about what actionable steps you can take when conducting negotiations to remove a count court judgement here

You’d be surprised at the positive response you’re likely to find from a landlord or letting agent if you’re upfront about the issue of a CCJ, whilst providing relevant evidence of your efforts to remove or satisfy the judgment.

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For example, if you have a business practice you might want show information pertaining to vital correspondence or accounts with the Claimant. It will be a key factor in their decision-making process as this will demonstrate your commitment to resolving the issue and keeping the landlord abreast of the situation

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Communication

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So, the big theme here in the world of managing the removal of CCJ or satisfying the debt whether you accept it or dispute it is to manage the expectations of any prospective Landlord or letting agent. Taking proactive steps to communicate and provide them with information relevant gives them assurance as to the efforts you are taking to sort out the issue, once the CCJ has been discovered.

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As the demand for rented accommodation continues to outstrip supply start by cushioning the impact that a default judgment CCJ has on your prospects by applying these actionable steps to get ahead.

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Of course, if you are struggling to do this and you need some help with repairing your credit file, this is something that we help our clients with every day.

Please reach out and schedule a consultation call, I’d be happy to help.

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I hope that you found this article useful, if you have any thoughts, please don’t forget to reach out to share them, your experience or even share this post with someone who may find this helpful. I’d love to hear back from you.

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