Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for tenant rent payments to be taken into account by mortgage lenders.

Whilst meeting rental payments is not sufficient in itself to demonstrate affordability over the lifetime of a loan, the Government believes it is right that a history of paying rent should be recognised in tenants’ credit scores and in affordability assessments.

That’s why, at Autumn Budget 2017, the Government announced the Rent Recognition Challenge: a £2m competition seeking FinTech solutions to enable tenants to record and share their rental data. The Challenge uses the ingenuity of the technology sector to deliver solutions that work for both consumers and businesses.

One of the leading credit reference agencies Experian has recently announced that rental payments will now be reflected in their credit score reports, and is working with winners of the Challenge.