The National Approved Letting Scheme (NALS) says it is to back a credit referencing system launched five years ago by leading referencing agency Experian that adds tenants’ rental payments to their credit histories.

The scheme, called The Rental Exchange, aims to help tenants improve their credit score by paying their rent on time.

If tenants and letting agent agree, Experian will record their monthly rental payments in the same way a home owners mortgage payments are documented.

NALS says the scheme will enable tenants to “strengthen their credit histories and ease any difficulties accessing credit” and the organisation is working with The Rental Exchange to ask its member agents to get behind the scheme.

NALS says the scheme is simple to use and free for agents to sign up to although previously, agents and landlords have had to pay to then access the information.

Landlords and agents are split into two sizes by the scheme; those owning or managing less than 100 properties, who submit tenant payments data via a service called CreditLadder, and those who own or manage more than 100 properties. These agents or landlords will be able to feed rental payments directly into the scheme’s website.

The Rental Exchange is already widely used in the social housing sector through Experian’s partnership with The Big Issue, where it is used as an incentive for tenants to pay their rent on time.

“By paying [their]rent on time, tenants will be able to demonstrate to a prospective agent that they are a good and reliable tenant” a NALS spokesperson said.

“Tenants with a history of little or no credit can build a stronger credit history and gain access to mainstream, cheaper credit.”
More information from www.experian.co.uk/rental-exchange or www.nalscheme.co.uk