Autumn Budget tax hikes set to raise rents for renters
5 months ago | 1 comments
Should tenants use rent payments for better credit scores?
12:01 AM, 4th December 2025, 5 months ago
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Hello, Should PRS landlords be encouraging all tenants to sign up for free to Canopy or Credit Ladder so that their rent payments help build their credit score with big credit referencing agencies?
The tenant pays the rent directly to the landlord, so no change.
In the case of benefit recipients, while the rent paid directly to the LL from the DWP is not recognised, any top-up payments to the rent ARE. Even if the tenant paid only £100 a month in top-ups, this would go towards increasing their score.
For a tenant, a better credit score means favourable rewards like access to better utility deals (coming off expensive pre-paid cards/keys), mobile phone contracts and even higher credit with Klarna, etc.
Given the RRA, tenants will very soon find that a good credit rating becomes more important than ever as rental referencing steps up a gear.
For a landlord, it also means that rental debt is recorded. It would automatically be picked up when another landlord who may be considering taking on the tenant in question undergoes a credit check. The same effect as a CCJ but without the cost. Again, there is no charge to the LL using Canopy or Credit Ladder.
The biggest benefit from what I can see is that at the end of a tenancy, the LL can also report the final debt to Canopy or Credit Ladder, which they feed into Experian, etc.
Is anyone already involved with this, or has been asked by a tenant to register?
Reluctant Landlord
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Member Since April 2025 - Comments: 9
10:05 AM, 4th December 2025, About 5 months ago
They have to pay it first! Can landlords use it to lower their credit rating when they don’t pay the full amount month after month?
Member Since September 2018 - Comments: 3524 - Articles: 5
10:17 AM, 4th December 2025, About 5 months ago
Reply to the comment left by Valerie Hollylee at 04/12/2025 – 10:05
agreed.
Yes at the end of the tenancy the LL can report any rent arrears owing (as far as I understand it as that how it works)
Member Since February 2024 - Comments: 72
10:17 AM, 4th December 2025, About 5 months ago
This sounds very interesting… I have never heard of these organisations and I’m fairly certain some of my tenants would be very interested in improving their credit ratings as they do want to become home owners… anyone had experience of these organisations?
Member Since September 2018 - Comments: 3524 - Articles: 5
10:27 AM, 4th December 2025, About 5 months ago
Reply to the comment left by Sally Robinson at 04/12/2025 – 10:17
in thinking even tenants that don’t have any chance of owning their own home in the future they may be swayed to sign up by the bonus of being able to get cheaper mobile phone contracts or switching to having the ability to come off costly pre-paid energy tariffs.
If they moved to another LL, this also stands them in better stead as they have some positive financial history too.
For me, it may mean they pay on time and in full (fearful of then loosing this positive history) but also if the tenancy goes bad, I have the ability to inform the agencies so that it shows up in their history – giving a heads up to another landlord.
Member Since March 2023 - Comments: 1506
9:08 PM, 4th December 2025, About 5 months ago
In another atticle on this site the government say that regular rental payments does not necessarily constitue affordability, so I guess the answer now is don’t trust the credit scores (Experian have just introduce rent payments into their scoring)
Member Since May 2024 - Comments: 204
4:24 AM, 5th December 2025, About 5 months ago
I’ve no problem with a tenant that wan’t to sign up and I hope that it helps them with their credit score.
I have 1 tenant that signed up to credit ladder a few years ago, I’d never heard of them before and had to Google them, and then due to unexpected circumstances she went into arrears a couple of months later. She was in arrears for about a year until things were sorted out and she is now up to date and rent is paid on time every month.
I don’t think she will ever be in a position to buy a house but being conscious about her credit rating gives me a bit of confidence to trust her.