The move, according to Experian, will "help build better futures." The move comes as Experian and Big Issue worked on a collaborative financial project to help tackle social exclusion and finance in the UK. Those who live in social or private rental properties can face hurdles when trying to access credit - by including rent payments, Experian and the Big Issue, argue "over 1.5 million people - could be affected by improvements in credit decisions if rent data were shared."
According to the research conducted by Experian, currently individuals with no-credit histories (i.e. Individuals who have not taken out a credit card or a mobile phone contract) and have lived a cash-based alternative lifestyle where barred after credit checks found they had no credit (i.e. a low credit rating). However, when they included rental payments - their rating rose accordingly.
Landlords can now use the credit file data to better evaluate prospective tenants. This means the right tenant can be verified by evaluating the right credit data. A spokesperson for Experian, Jonathan Westley, says: "For credit providers to lend responsibly, but also prevent fraud, they need a more complete view of customers' financial commitments and payment history. The addition of rental payment data will improve the insight available to make accurate and responsible decisions. This initial analysis clearly shows the overwhelmingly positive impact the Rental Exchange will have. The more housing associations that start to share data with us, the more we can help address the problem of financial exclusion in the UK."
