Tenant referencing under the Renters’ Rights Act?

…add in your own social media checks too.

Google the previous address to see what state it is in from the outside or even do a drive by if you are local.

Remember if you are ICO registered then even if you use a referencing company and they just give you a red/amber/green type report at the end, you can still ask for copies of the info they found themselves in order to give this rating.

A lot use open banking which means the tenant has to agree for them to access the info. This can still be passed onto you. While they can still be earning, have no CCJ’s etc, banks statements can flag up other things like a lot of (unknown source) cash coming in (legal or illegal?) or a gambling habit etc.

Hi Reluctant Landlord,

Yes, I ask the prospective tenant to download their credit report ( if there is a charge, I pay for this ) – If this looks fine ( ie no CCJ’s/missed payments etc ), I then ask the prospective tenant to go through my insurance company in order to gain RGI insurance, along with 10 to 12 months’ bank statements showing rental payments/utility bills/salary/council tax etc Plus, I will now be asking for a Guarantor in every instance going forwards ( referenced in the same manner ) Obviously, at no ciost to the tenant and absolutely no obligation whatsoever that the prospective tenant wishes to give their personal data up. However, if they do not wish to let me have sight of these documents, I cannot enter into a tenancy with them. Unfortunately, we have to be even more diligent given the new statute. Plus, I like to sleep at night knowing I have carried out as much due diligence as I possibly can.

We do all this already, and as previously stated, social media and Google search. Often the later is the give away.
I like the idea of asking the tenant to download and provide their own credit history,
We experimented with using an agent to tenant find/check, but got no better tenants than when we did it ourselves. A saving of about £350!
As there will be no fixed terms, and potentially high tenant turnover, we’ll be doing our own from now on.

That’s a lot to ask but yet you missed out the fraud and sanction checks that are now mandatory!

I’m curious why you don’t simply outsource.

Fake statements and wage slips are an AI prompt away and employers and landlord references are extremely easy to fake.

One or two companies can run these checks in under 15 minutes for £30. Isn’t your time worth more than that?

Reply to the comment left by Kay Shaw at 17/02/2026 – 10:28
Hi, can you please explain how do you proceed with this activity ie:
‘ I then ask the prospective tenant to go through my insurance company in order to gain RGI insurance’ ? I have taken rent guarantee insurance in the past, but insurance company hasn’t asked me for contact with tenants, however I didn’t have to claim, so I’m wondering that what you do may be the correct way ie. let insurance company do the screening of tenants prior to selling me RGI insurance… If you could advise which company you buy such insurance from, it would be also helpful. Many thanks 🙂

Reply to the comment left by Sarah, Husmus at 17/02/2026 – 14:23
Hi, what do you mean by fraud and sactions checks? Can you please advise which companies does that?

Reply to the comment left by Joanna at 17/02/2026 – 16:47
Hi Joanna, have a chat with “Alan Boswell” insurers with regards to the RGI insurance. They are a great insurance company and very reasonable – Just to add, I have no affiliation with them. They’ll be able yo help you, but I personally find it is much better to carry out my own due diligence referencing first with any prospective tenant, before I then hand it to my insurance company for their referencing in order to gain the RGI. That way, I have a good idea whether I will be able yo gain the RGI insurance with the prospective tenant and therefore not waste funds by carrying out the referencing first myself and satisfying my own due diligence. I hope this helps

Just saying….

I wouldn’t want my tenants to know whether I had an RGI policy on them.

IMO, it would give them an incentive not to pay rent – especially if they were planning to move out soon ie in the few months prior to giving formal notice.

Why do they need to know anyway?

Lord

Reply to the comment left by Kay Shaw at 17/02/2026 – 17:22
Hi, thanks for your response. So you first check tenant credit report for any missed payments/CCJs/IVAs, etc and if it looks OK, than you ask Alan Boswell to contact tenant to do further checks and establish if they are able to give you Rent Guarantee Insurance? Do they charge anything extra for that? Is my understanding correc that it’s double protection ie. once they agree to sell you RGI, they will pay it if claim is made? Have you ever had initial credit report check done but Alan Boswell refused to offer RGI (and why)?

Reply to the comment left by Joanna at 17/02/2026 – 21:23
Yes, I carry out the credit checks firstly myself and then if everything seems satisfactory ( no CCJ’s/missed payments etc ) I then pass the referencing over to my insurance company in order to gain the RGI insurance – Have a chat with Alan Boseell insurers tomorrow to find out costs etc, they’re really helpful 🙂