Petition · Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government

Ban credit checks and requiring tenant income to be 30x monthly rent

Closed 53 signatures

What the petition asks

Trying to find a house in the private rent sector is difficult. We think requiring income of 30x the monthly rent & passing a credit check can make it near impossible for a regular family to move. We think this may put a strain on the social housing sector which already has limited housing capacity.
We think the government should step in to make it easier for regular families to move into private accommodation by putting restrictions on letting agents ability to require these expectations of income 30x the monthly rent amount. We think the income requirement should be a buffer to ensure a family can afford the rent and bills this should be 4 -8x monthly rent. In addition, we think that credits checks should not be part of referencing since renting is not a financial loan.

Timeline

7 Aug 2025 Petition opened for signatures
7 Feb 2026 Closed to new signatures

Key facts

Signatures 53
Status Closed
Department Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government
Opened 7 Aug 2025
Closed 7 Feb 2026

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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 19 Aug 2026.