When you rent accommodation, you must have a good credit score because your landlord will not entertain you without it. However, it can be challenging to boost your score when you already have a bad credit rating, which means more struggles in renting a flat.
If you know that you will need to rent a flat in the future, you should try to have your score improved immediately. The best way is to borrow an instalment loan and pay it down over a period of six or 12 months.
When the lender finds you paying off the debt on time, they will report to credit reference agencies, and as a result, your credit score will go up. At the same time, you need to be cautious about your overspending because that can push you in taking out more and more debt, and you will take a toll on your credit score.
Try to pay for all your transactions in cash and avoid racking up your credit card bills. Most of the time, it is not possible to improve your credit score. This is because you cannot put off your plans of renting a flat until you improve your credit score. The immeasurable news is that hiring a flat with a bad credit score is still tolerable.
How can you rent a flat with bad credit?
Renting an accommodation with a bad credit score can be challenging, but it is impossible. Here are the tips for renting a flat with bad credit.
- Competition matters a lot
Your chances of finding accommodation with bad credit depending on the level of competition landlords are facing. Landlords will not entertain your application in case of high demand because they can easily find a tenant with a good credit score.
However, when the competition is low, they may be lenient with their criteria. It means when your credit score is not excellent, your chances of renting a flat is not easy at all in places with high competition.
It will help if you try to look for accommodation where competition is not much. Try to look for accommodation in a locality where you are the best option for your landlord.
- Find a guarantor
Although you have an alternative to move away from places where houses have greater demand for renting, it may not be an ideal solution for you. Of course, you would like to live in a place where you can access all facilities this instant.
If you are dwelling in the city, You will definitely have to struggle with the contestant. If you do not want to have your application turned down because of a poor credit rating, you should arrange a guarantor. A guarantor is a third party who will take up the accountability of funding your rent if you perpetrate a default.
The guarantor can be your family member or your friend, but they must have a good credit score. It lets up the uncertainty of the landlord. Since they can call upon the guarantor to settle your outstanding rental payment when you fail to pay, they will likely sign the agreement with you.
- Your business credit score can help you
Business credit score differs from personal credit rating if you have registered your business as a separate entity. If your personal credit score is not up to par and it is hard to arrange a guarantor, you can ask your landlord to consider your business credit score.
It is a good way to prove that you have a strong repaying capacity. A good business credit score may allow your landlord to approve your application because somehow, you have to make money off your business account for personal expenses, including rent.
In case of a no business credit score, you should take out small business loans in Northern Ireland. These loans can help you improve your business credit score. These scores are different from personal credit scores. Do online research to know about them in detail.
- Find other ways
There are many reasons why you cannot arrange a guarantor or show a business credit score as an alternative. Yet, you have several ways to convince your landlord to rent out the flat. Here are some selective alternatives you can examine:
- You should offer to put in a higher deposit. Higher security gives a sense of protection to your landlord to recover money in case you breach.
- You can offer to pay more rental amount than that is listed in the advertisement. However, you will have to show your bank statement to prove your affordability of paying higher rent.
This way, you can get easily convinced your landlord.
- What if all options fail?
When all options fail, the last resort is looking for a roommate. Instead of renting a flat, sharing a room with your friend can be a better option. In the meantime, you should focus on improving your credit score so soon you can rent a flat for yourself.
The final word
If you have a bad credit rating and cannot rent a flat, you should use any of the methods mentioned above.
Although these are some of the alternatives, it does not mean that you will never improve your credit score. You should always try to have your credit report in good condition.
Consult a financial advisor or debt management company if you are struggling to pay off your debt. Ask them how you can heighten your credit score. Following their suggestions can help you make your credit file stellar.
