Does changing my address or moving often affect my credit score?

If you’re moving house, or if you move house regularly, you might be worried that it will hurt your credit score. Because moving house isn’t full on enough, right? 

Your credit reports hold your personal information and financial history to help lenders to establish how creditworthy you are. You have three reports, one from each of the UK’s main credit reference agencies (CRAs): Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. You can read more about credit reference agencies: who are they, what’s the difference and who do lenders use here.

There’s no denying your address is a really important part of your credit report. But it doesn’t affect your credit score directly. Confusing? Don’t worry! There’s lots of misunderstandings around how addresses and address changes can impact your score. We’re here to put the record straight

Does changing address or moving house affect my credit report?

Yes and no. You’ll likely see a dip in your score after a house move simply because lenders like to see stability. It isn’t the act of moving home that affects your credit report. It’s more the admin that goes with it

Moving comes with logistical changes to things like new utility accounts being opened in your name (it’s not always possible to transfer to the same energy providers). Opening more than one account in a six month period, would likely cause your score to drop until you can prove that you pay off your bills responsibly and on schedule, before it starts to build up again.

If you are moving from a mortgaged property, it could be because you sold your previous house for less than the total value of your mortgage. You can read more about how selling your house affects your credit score here.

The most important thing to do is make sure that you have updated your address as soon as possible, registered onto the electoral roll, and checked that your new address is accurate across all three of your reports. This means checking in with Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.

Why is my address on my credit report?

The reason your address is held on your credit report is because it forms part of your personal identity. Your name and your date of birth are also recorded. Your address is used to confirm your identity and to match all of your credit information to you. It’s really important to keep your address accurate on your credit report. One important way to do this is to make sure you’re registered on the electoral roll (if you’re eligible to vote in the UK that is. If you aren’t, you can add a notice of correction to your report to explain).

When a potential lender does a credit search on you, they will want to see that you have up-to-date and accurate personal information (among other things). They will also probably need you to have a permanent address to be accepted for credit at all. If this information is missing or showing as different on different credit reports, it is likely to cause a problem.

Does moving house often affect your credit score?

Changing your address regularly won’t change your score but it could affect your ability to get credit. The reason is because lenders like to see stability in your personal details. If you move house often that will show on your personal records as part of your report and could be a red flag.

Lenders could view your multiple address changes as a result of you not being able to keep up rent payments, or that you struggle to settle in one place. This could impact your ability to manage a loan or a credit card. These are generalised concerns and shouldn’t be too big a worry for you. But if you can show a stable and accurate address history it will always look better on your credit report.

By getting a Loqbox membership, you can build your credit history by paying your rent which can help show you are financially responsible. Whether you pay rent to a landlord, letting agency, local authority or your family — it’s a simple way to boost your history just by linking your monthly rent payments.

Is there an address blacklist for credit scores?

No. This is totally untrue! You may have heard that the area where you live or moving to a property with a history of bad credit will impact your score. This isn’t the case. Your address just helps CRAs to identify you. Where you live isn’t factored into how your credit score is calculated.

Changing address checklist

If you’re moving house or changing your address and you’re worried about your credit report, here is a quick checklist:

• Register on the electoral roll.
  

• Redirect your mail and set up automatic payments. Making sure your mail goes to your new address and getting your regular payments on direct debit will help you not miss anything important at an already busy time.
  

• Check your report. Make sure your address information is accurate and the same on all of your credit reports. You can check your score before and after you move house for free and without hurting it by using one of our recommended services:

ClearScore (uses Equifax data)*

Experian App (uses Experian data)

Intuit Credit Karma (uses TransUnion data)

* Little shout-out to say that if you sign up for ClearScore using this link we get a small commission

How to build your credit after moving house

If you find yourself feeling a little fed up looking at your credit reports after your move, we can help with that. A Loqbox membership gives you access to credit-building tools. Find out more here.