Guide
TPN credit checks explained
TPN is a South African credit bureau focused on the rental market. A TPN check on a rental applicant combines standard credit-bureau data with rental-payment history contributed by landlords and agents. This guide explains what it tells you and what it does not.
What a TPN check contains
A TPN tenant check typically returns a credit score, any judgments, defaults or administration orders, and — where available — a rental payment profile showing how the applicant has paid previous landlords. The rental history is what distinguishes it from a generic bureau report.
Credit score vs affordability
A credit check tells you how someone has handled credit in the past. It does not tell you whether they can afford this rent now. Affordability is a separate assessment — income versus committed expenses — usually done from bank statements or payslips. You need both: a clean record on an unaffordable rent still ends in arrears.
Consent and POPIA
You must have the applicant’s consent to run a credit check, and you should only run it for the stated purpose of assessing the tenancy. Record that consent as part of the application.
Reading it in context
A single default from years ago matters less than a recent pattern of missed payments. Look at recency, frequency and whether rental-specific history is present before deciding.
Frequently asked questions
- Is a TPN check the same as a credit bureau check?
- It includes credit-bureau data but adds rental payment history contributed by other landlords and agents, which a standard bureau report does not have.
- Can I decline an applicant based only on their credit score?
- You can set screening criteria, but a sound decision weighs the credit result together with affordability and rental history rather than a single number. Keep your criteria consistent across applicants.
- Does Paydwell run the TPN check for me?
- Paydwell brings the credit result and the bank-statement affordability assessment into one applicant snapshot so you are not logging into separate systems to piece it together.
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