Tenant Referencing - an essential guide

06 June 2018 4691 Views

 

What is a tenant reference?

A tenant reference is a tool for landlords to help choose the right tenants. A good tenant reference should tell you about your tenant's credit history, how much they earn, and a summary of their ability to pay rent in previous tenancies.

Why should I reference my tenants?

Recent statistics from a Ministry of Justice report (February 2018) indicate that 169 evictions are carried out in the UK, daily. With more tenants looking to rent privately, the risk to both the private landlord and those with a professional agent increases. Whilst there is no telling what may happen tomorrow, a robust tenant reference can give landlords the clearest view of your potential tenant.

What checks are available?

Whilst there is no reason you cannot ask your potential tenants to provide proof of their earnings and rental payments, using a trusted industry specialist like TenancyPod vastly reduces the risk of fraudulent information as only well-established techniques and specifically designed technology are used.

As well as taking numerous steps to confirm that all information is provided from reliable sources, TenancyPod provides landlords with a separate report to confirm that the applicant's personal information such as identity is genuine. We also offer all landlords an additional check to help determine if a tenant's travel document has been tampered with. Our MRZ Analysis tool analyses the document's MRZ code and presents any uncovered information, in the same way that you would expect from an MRZ scanner.

What does a reference consist of?

This will depend on where you are getting the reference from and what sort of reference you order. However, TenancyPod references will consist of the following:

• Credit Check: this provides a detailed insight into a tenant's credit profile.

• Income Reference: an evaluation of your tenant's ability to afford the rent for the duration of their tenancy.

• Landlord Reference: a summary of your tenant's renting history, provided by previous landlords.

• Know Your Customer: instant confirmation of your tenant's ID and residency.

• MRZ Analysis: analysis of the authenticity of your tenant's passport.

How can I reference my applicants?

With TenancyPod, referencing your tenants couldn't be easier. All you need to enter online is the tenant's name, email address and phone number. Your tenant will provide the rest of the information and within a few days TenancyPod will send you their recommendation.

TenancyPod provides landlords with comprehensive tenant referencing. To find out how we can help you, or for more information about referencing, call us today on 0333 332 7938 or contact us here.