A third of tenants in the UK have put their home-owning plans on hold and are resigned to renting than originally planned, it has been revealed.

The research, by Experian, also highlights how many renters also struggle to get a mortgage and that many of them - particularly single parents and couples with children - would like to see their rent count towards their credit score.

What is a credit score and why is it important

Credit scoring agencies such as Experian, Equifax and Call Credit hold a file of information about you including your repayment history, number of credit applications and details of your age and address, and that generates and contains your score too.

This is usually a number and will be a proportion of the highest credit score possible. For example Experian's score runs from 0-999 with a score of 881-960 being considered good and 961-999 considered excellent. But the three main agencies use different scoring techniques, so each 'score' you receive will be different.

Your score is used by lenders to determine your creditworthiness for financial products such as mortgages, loans and even phone contracts. Broadly speaking, the higher your credit score the more likely you are to be accepted for a mortgage.

If you are looking to transition from a tenant to a homeowner you need to be aware of your credit score. If the score is insufficient to help secure a mortgage you need to do everything in your power to increase your rating.

Lenders will often use more than one of those agencies when making their loan decisions so it is wise to see how each of them rate your credit worthiness.

The good news is that it is very easy to check your credit score with each of the agencies and it is now usually free to do so. You can find more information about checking your credit score here.

How to improve your credit score

Signing up to credit repair credit cards, settling any outstanding debt and managing existing lines of credit can all help to increase your credit score. It's worth knowing that you can also help improve your credit score by paying your rent to your landlord or agent through CreditLadder

For other easy tips on improving your credit score check out this article from our blog.

But other things matter too

When lenders decide whether to lend you money or not many factors other than your credit score count. This includes what sort of job you have, whether you are a UK resident or not, how long you have lived in your home or whether you're registered to vote or not.

For more information on increasing your chances of being approved for a mortgage read this article.

CreditLadder can help you improve your credit score

If you want to improve your credit position by reporting your rent payments, CreditLadder is the only way to improve your credit score and position across all four of the main Credit Reference Agencies in the UK, namely Experian, Equifax, TransUnion and Crediva. Building up a high credit score has a lot of benefits, including helping you access finance at better rates - this can also help save you money.

CreditLadder also runs a free mortgage application service in partnership with Tembo which will tell you how much you could borrow.

Remember the information provided in this article is for information purposes only and should not be considered as advice.