Provincial Court Judgement against Tenants affecting Credit Report

[KenReynolds]

Has anyone had any experience in having a court judgement against a tenant and having that appear on their credit report?

I was speaking with someone yesterday who said that, while we can`t directly affect a bad tenant`s credit score for not paying rent, etc., we can take the tenant to Alberta Court of Queen`s Bench, get a judgement and that judgement can go against their credit report.

The point was made that if there is a judgement against the tenant, that judgement can appear on their credit report and, if so, the scoundrel won`t get any car loans, mortgages, etc. at any time in the future until they resolve the debt they owe you. Granted, it probably won`t get you the cash in the short term but, if it works, there`s bound to be a payday sometime in the future.

Is it that easy? If it works, what are the mechanics of getting it on their credit report after the court judgement?

Cheers! Ken

 

[PeterKinchMortgageTeam]

QUOTE (KenReynolds @ Jan 10 2008, 10:09 AM) Has anyone had any experience in having a court judgement against a tenant and having that appear on their credit report?

I was speaking with someone yesterday who said that, while we can`t directly affect a bad tenant`s credit score for not paying rent, etc., we can take the tenant to Alberta Court of Queen`s Bench, get a judgement and that judgement can go against their credit report.

The point was made that if there is a judgement against the tenant, that judgement can appear on their credit report and, if so, the scoundrel won`t get any car loans, mortgages, etc. at any time in the future until they resolve the debt they owe you. Granted, it probably won`t get you the cash in the short term but, if it works, there`s bound to be a payday sometime in the future.

Is it that easy? If it works, what are the mechanics of getting it on their credit report after the court judgement?

Cheers! Ken


Judgements and collections do typically appear on the credit report and they do affect a persons credit score. Most lenders will still lend (depending of course on the overall credit) but in most cases will require the collections to be paid prior to closing unless the client has a very good reason for the collection appearing there and can back up thier argument for non payment with documentation. (ie accrued gym membership fees etc.....).

I suspect that if the applicant is applying for a mortgage, non payment of rent won`t look good and its unlikely that any reasoning will get them off the hook of paying that one.

 

[GarthChapman]

We deal with Landlord 911 and they charge $100 to register the Judgement on the person`s credit report and on the Personal Property Registry also. Apparently the second item ensures that if anyone else collects on another Judgement against the same people it gets shared on some basis with you based on your Judgement. I am not really clear on exactly how this part works. The registrations remain on their records for 10 years.

Hope that helps a bit,

 

[KenReynolds]

Thanks for the feedback folks!

Garth, does Landlord 911 charge the $100 after the judgement has been received or are they (or can they be) part of the court process to get the judgement?

I suppose that whatever Landlord 911 charges or whatever other costs are associated with the collection, these could be tacked onto the total owing the landlord. Is that a fair statement?

Thanks again, Ken