Rent a House during an IVA

Rent a House during an IVA

If you rent a house or flat it should not be affected if you start an IVA. However there may be implications if you decide to move to a new property.

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Can you continue to Rent your House if you start an IVA?

Starting an IVA will not affect your ability to continue to live in a property you are currently renting. Your landlord will not be told. As such as long as you continue to pay the rent on time you should have nothing to worry about.

Your negative credit rating will not affect your landlord’s property. A property cannot be blacklisted. It is the individuals who live in the property who can have a poor credit rating but not the property itself.

The Arrangement might actually improve your relationship with your landlord. Once the Arrangement is in place you should always be able to pay your rent on time because the required cash is budgeted in your living expenses.

It is unlikely that anyone will ever discover you are in an IVA unless you tell them.

The Implications of moving to a New Rented Property

A monthly payment IVA will normally last 5-6 years. During this time there could be many reasons why you might need to move to a new rented property.

In theory there is nothing to prevent you from doing this. However if your new rental payment is either higher or lower than the amount you previously paid it will affect the Arrangement.

If the rent is higher your living expenses budget will increase. You may not be able to afford this without reducing your IVA payments. It might be possible to do so but the agreement may have to be extended as a result.

If your rent falls after moving to a new property and your disposable income goes up as a result you may have to increase your IVA payments .

Will your credit rating stop you renting a new house during an IVA?

Once you start an IVA your credit rating will become poor. This will cause problems if you want to move and rent a house or other property using a letting agent during the Arrangement.

The issue is most letting agents will credit check you. You will fail this because of your IVA. As such it is usually best to be upfront with the agent about your situation. If it is going to be a problem there are some things you can offer to overcome this.

You could suggest paying rent 6 months in advance. However given your financial situation this is likely to be difficult. Alternatively you could offer a Guarantor. This could be a family member or friend who confirms they will pay your rent if you are unable to do so.

Your poor credit rating will not normally be taken into account if you are planning to move into a rented property owned by the Council or local Housing Association.

84 thoughts on “Rent a House during an IVA

    William says:

    I have a iva am being evicted from my present address and planning to look at a property tomorrow with my Son , who works and he is helping me with the rent and bills. If we are excepted for this property. Would it be an issue with the landlord my poor credit rating and him excepting my application?

      Hi William

      If your son is able to take the tenancy in his name, there should be no problem. You could be a named occupier which would not require you to pass a credit check.

      However, there is likely to be an issue if you want the tenancy agreement in your name (or in joint names with your son). You are likely to fail the letting agent’s credit check. If this is the case, you may need to be in a position to pay rent in advance to move forward with this option.

    MSarah says:

    Will an IVA effect a tenancy renewal?

      Hi MSarah

      Your IVA should not affect the renewal of your ongoing tenancy agreement.

      This is because as an existing tenant, the letting agent or landlord will have no need to do a credit check on you. They will not find out you are in an IVA. The issues really only occur if you are looking to rent a new property where a credit check is likely to take place.

    Paulh says:

    I am being evicted from my current property as landlord wants to sell the house. i am halfway through an iva and have just applied for a new tenancy. are some landlords willing to overlook this? or is it set in stone that they would want a guarantor? tenancy could go in my brothers name but he is only on a 6month contract which could go perm. i am scared of being homeless in 6 weeks time if this all falls through. can you help?

      Hi Paul

      It may be that some landlords are willing to overlook the poor credit rating due to an IVA. However it is simply impossible to say whether they will or not. In my experience, unfortunately they seem to reject the applicant more often than accept.

      As I have mentioned in previous comments, some landlords may be satisfied with a guarantor. Others will not. Some will be satisfied with the tenancy being taken in just one occupants name with the other recorded simply as a named occupier. However, again there is no guarantee that they will accept this either.

      Unfortunately, it is really hit and miss. It is one of the significant issues facing people in IVAs.

    ElsieG says:

    Hi, I have 3 months to finish my Iva but have been served a letter to leave my current property so am making a new application through a letting agency and on the form they have asked if you have been ever involved in bankruptcy or voluntary arrangement. Should I say no or yes since I only have 3 months to finish Iva and can request to have a guarantor ?

      Hi ElsieG

      Even though your IVA is almost finished, the record of it existing will still show up on your credit file. As such it will show up if the letting agency do a credit check on you (which they normally will) and then they will find out. I therefore recommend that you are honest and say yes.

      I suggest you are up front with the letting agent. Have a chat with them and tell them about the IVA. Mention it is nearly over and you have not had any issues with rent payments. Perhaps you can get a letter from your old landlord confirming you have been a good payer and have never been behind. That might help.

      In terms of getting a guarantor, as I have mentioned in replied to other comments before, there is no guarantee a landlord will accept this but you never know so it’s worth asking.

    Mitchell Mig says:

    Hi I currently live at home and have IVA but I want to rent my own place will my iva affect getting accepted

      Hi Mitchell

      Your options really depend on the type of place you are thinking of renting. If you are looking at going into a shared house or lodging with a landlord (renting a room) then there should be no problem.

      However, if you are looking to rent a place through a letting agent, your IVA will make it difficult unless you know the landlord. A letting agent will normally do a credit check on you. You will fail this because of your IVA. As such it is likely the landlord will not want to rent to you.

      It might be possible to get around this by offering someone to act as a guarantor for the rent or by paying rent in advance. But this is by no means certain.

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