What if I do not have any credit?

If you do not have credit, never having applied for and received, for example, a credit card, a car loan, a mortgage, a student loan, etc., your TransUnion® report will reflect this. It will be absent of any credit data, and there will not be a credit score. While this may pose a challenge, having no credit is better than having bad credit!

We suggest you communicate your situation to those who may need to know; your agent, the landlord, and their agent. Being open and upfront can oftentimes be helpful. If possible, we suggest providing other information to support your application for the tenancy.

  • A letter from your employer that includes information about salary.

  • Bank statements showing cash flow

  • A positive letter of reference from a current and/or prior landlord

A note about credit scores

To have a score, consumers must have active credit. This means they must have had credit extended, and activity surrounding the credit must have occurred at least once during the past 6 months. If there has been no credit activity in the past 6 months, the score will no longer appear on the credit report. This is because a credit score is based on the manner in which consumers handle the use of their credit. It stands to reason that a credit score cannot be generated if there is no credit being used. 

The lack of a score may NOT be an indication of bad (or good) credit. Consumers who have excellent credit, pay all their bills on time, and currently have no debt - not having used their credit for 6 months or longer will not have a score. Consumers who have a poor payment history or who have lost access to their credit privileges will not have a score after 6 months. 

Scores change all the time. Credit scores are fluid. They can change from day to day based on the manner in which a consumer uses their credit. Spending, payment patterns, the age of the accounts, and other factors all play a part in the score. Allowing credit to go dormant or losing credit privileges will result in the loss of a credit score.