Creditworthiness bill delayed

The creditworthiness Assessment Bill bill has been delayed at the House of Commons. The creditworthiness bill is designed to ensure that people’s record of paying rent is taken into account when they seek loans or mortgages – at the moment she argues the system essentially discriminates against tenants and in favour of property owners.

Rhona Parry, vice president, external affairs, EU at Equifax said: “The delay in passing the Creditworthiness Assessment Bill means a barrier remains in place for the millions of renters who pay too much for credit when they need to replace a washing machine, buy a car or get a mortgage. The Bill shines a light on the penalty renters pay in credit markets because mortgage payments are considered in lending decisions but rent payments are not.

“The Government does not need to wait for the Bill to be rescheduled to solve this problem. In the today’s budget (Monday) it can reduce the cost of credit for many of the two million families who rent council houses across the UK by allowing all credit reference agencies to access rental data directly from local authorities and encouraging housing associations and large private landlords to do the same.”