Rent payments and mortgage acceptance: Commons Debate Pack
Getting a mortgage is very difficult. High house prices and more restrictive lending conditions make qualifying for a mortgage difficult, especially for first time buyers. An e- Petition which attracted over 147,000 signatures calls on lenders to include an applicant's history of rent payments in their lending decision process. The Debate will be led by Paul Scully MP.
It is often cheaper and normally thought better, all other things the same, to buy a house than to rent. Getting a mortgage application accepted depends on several factors – one is a good credit score which makes both acceptance more likely and the offer more favourable terms.
Renters complain that their history of paying rent does not get recorded on their credit score in the way in which mortgage payments are recorded. This makes it hard for them to improve their score and get better deals on all sorts of credit applications – and mortgages.
An e-Petition called for rental payments to be treated equally with mortgages repayments.