April 25, 2022
When letting a property out, it isn’t simply a case of finding a tenant, signing an agreement and letting them move in. There are quite a few legally mandated checks that a landlord needs to carry out and also some checks which just make good business sense. In this article we will take a look at the checks that a landlord needs to carry out and the information they will need from a prospective tenant.
These are arguably the most important checks to carry out from a legal perspective. Essentially, they are checks that a landlord has to carry out to ensure that the prospective tenant has the legal right to live in the country.
People who have the right to be in the country are:
- British or Irish citizens
- Those with indefinite leave to remain (ILR)
- Those with refugee status or humanitarian protection
- Those with settled or pre-settled status under the EU settlement scheme
- Those who have permission to be in the UK, for example, on a work or student visa
- Those for whom the Home Office has granted a time limited right to rent
If the prospective tenant has abiometric residence card or permit, has settled or pre-settled status then the right to rent checks are carried out on-line. The resident will need to supply their share code and date of birth and the check can be started using the Government website. If the tenant does not have biometric documents, then a manual check will need to be carried out using their original documents. The Government has provided a full list of acceptable documents. Just remember that this check must be carried out with the original documents and needs to be recorded. Copied documents cannot be accepted.
Financial Checks
Although these are not a legal obligation, it makes sound business sense to check that a prospective tenant can afford to pay the rent. As such landlords or their agents would typically ask a prospective tenant to supply, as appropriate:
- an employment contract or letter from their employer
- recent payslips or bank statements
- proof of benefit entitlement
Some agents will also want to run a credit check on a tenant via one of the major credit reference agencies. This will need permission from the tenant, however.
References
As part of basic checks, landlords might well ask for references which could be an employer or a previous landlord.
In essence a landlord is likely to want, proof of residence, proof of income, date of birth and also some references as part of their pre-tenancy checks. Some of these are legal requirements and some are sound business sense.