New Schufa regulation

The reduction in the storage time of data after private bankruptcies at Schufa will affect an estimated 100,000 people in Germany each year . Although there are many people in Germany with financial problems, only a few take advantage of the option of bankruptcy, which often enables faster debt relief and should actually be common practice.

The change will also affect those who use Schufa entries to make decisions , such as landlords or lenders .

In the past, the long storage time of the Schufa made it difficult for consumers to start over after a personal bankruptcy. This made it much more difficult to conclude contracts, make purchases and take on new debts, which are often necessary in entrepreneurship.

Although those affected had paid off their debts through bankruptcy, their financial reputation was usually affected by the Schufa entries . This meant that lenders and banks were often hesitant to grant loans when they saw that someone had gone through bankruptcy.

The new regulation now allows those affected to enter into new obligations more quickly, such as renting a new apartment or taking out a loan. " The shortening of the storage time improves the situation for debtors overall," say experts.

However, it should be noted that this change also increases the risk that people will get back into debt more quickly. Neither the discharge of residual debt nor the reduction in the storage period are linked to financial advice.
It is therefore important to act responsibly when taking on new commitments.

Even after the decision, there were significant effects on stored data for some consumers. In March/April 2023, as a result of the change, Schufa said it deleted entries from around 250,000 consumers who had gone through personal bankruptcy.

Further details on the Schufa decision and the announced ECJ ruling follow in this article: