What does a tenant reference check include?
Follow our list of key checks on what to look for, to help reduce your risk
It’s important not to rush the referencing process so that you don’t miss out on vital information.
Sadly, serial bad tenants and fraudsters pray on vulnerable and naïve landlords and are experts at coming up with false papers. So, it’s important to be thorough, cross-check, and make sure you come across as a professional landlord.
There is no way to guarantee that a tenancy will be problem free, but if you follow our list of key checks on what to look for, you will greatly reduce your risk. It’s also important to check with your insurer what their referencing requirements are, to make sure you’ve covered.
The tenant should provide two forms of ID, one of which must be a driving licence or passport, containing a clear photograph. This is to make sure that the potential tenant is who they claim to be and that they live at the address they have provided
A recent utility bill, council tax bill or bank statement is required as proof of residency as this information includes the prospective tenant’s current address
Carry out a credit check through an organisation like Experian, to check that the prospective tenant is not in debt and does not have a poor credit history. This check will confirm residency, whether they have any outstanding or unsettled County Court Judgements (CCJs) against them, and that no bankruptcy orders have been lodged against them. Asking tenants for their last three months’ bank statements will also tell you whether they have received their salary and paid their rent
Contact the prospective tenant’s employer to obtain a written employer’s reference on company letter headed paper, to verify the tenant’s permanent and current employment and confirm that their salary is at least a multiple of 2.5 per cent of the rent (ideally the rent should be no more than 30 per cent of their salary).
A check of the applicant’s national insurance number will also tell you whether they are legitimately working in the UK. Make sure the employer exists by looking up the company number to check that they are active, trading and have filed company accounts
In addition to the standard four-point reference check, it’s a good idea to carry out the following checks:
Ask for a reference from the prospective tenant’s current landlord (if they have one), or from a former landlord using details from a previous tenancy agreement, to make sure that the prospective tenant doesn’t have any outstanding rent arrears and has not caused damage to a previous rental property. You can check that the landlord is the same person who owns the property by carrying out a Land Registry search – it costs just £3.00 for this information
Landlords and letting agents are legally required to ask to see the tenant’s immigration documents or passport before starting a new tenancy or renewing an existing tenancy, to check that the prospective tenant has legal status to work and reside in the UK
While not a standard part of the referencing process, it’s worth looking prospective tenants up on social media to get an idea of their lifestyle
Regardless of the outcomes of the standard reference checks, don’t ignore gut instinct. If you are in any doubt as to whether the applicant is the right person for your property, don’t go ahead with the tenancy. If they never answer their phone or it takes a long time to have them referenced and information is missing, it’s probably wise to stay away
If the prospective tenant is using a guarantor, this individual must also be referenced in the same way
