Can I Still Rent Property Under Debt Review?
The process of debt review is a saving grace for those struggling to maintain regular debt repayments. While being under debt review helps extensively with your financial management responsibilities, it can also sometimes feel like you are limited by it. For example, you are unable to take out any new loans while you are under debt review. While this is perfectly justified, as the process is designed to manage your existing debt before clearing you with your creditors, you may have some concerns about other financial decisions that may be affected. One such concern is whether you are able to rent property.
Debt review should not prohibit a person from renting a property
As debt review is not a credit agreement itself, clients are still able to rent property if they are under the debt review process. There are no legal stipulations that exclude a person who is undergoing debt counselling from being party to a lease agreement. When you are applying for property rental, most property agents and landlords will perform a background check on your financial situation, including all your credit agreements, judgements, defaults and whether or not you are under debt review. If you are deemed an unfit applicant for the rental, it will be due to some other factor, as they are not permitted to deny you the opportunity to rent based solely on your debt review status.
How to increase your chances of securing a lease agreement while under debt review
Landlords or letting agents may still have some concerns regarding the fact that you are under debt review. To make their decision-making process easier, your debt counsellor can provide the landlord or agent with a proof of budget to indicate that you are able to afford the rental amount. Most landlords or agents are happy to accept this as a testimony to your suitability for tenancy. You can also increase your chances by providing bank statements to indicate the same, offering a double deposit on the rental if possible, or offering another person to co-sign or stand as surety for you. To ensure that you are not stretching your finances too thin, contact One Debt about renting property or any other debt review concerns before making your decision.