WHAT IS TENANT REFERENCING AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

Over the last 12 months Boydens have carried out approximately 750 tenant references. Referencing has long been an essential part of letting a property, and now more than ever, this is a vitally important as fraudulent applications are increasing at an alarming rate.

Boydens have a long-standing partnership with Let Alliance, one of the leading referencing agencies, to ensure that all applicants we put forward are vetted thoroughly for peace of mind for our landlords. All referencing includes a number of checks such as the below:

• Electoral Roll verification
• County Court Judgments/Bankruptcy/IVAs check
• Non-disclosed address search
• Income verification via employer, pension provider, accountant or wealth manager as required, plus collection of bank statements for the last 3 months and pay slips if required
• Companies House review and verification of employer’s financial status if required
• Current landlord reference if applicant is currently renting
• Open banking fully integrated into the process
• Residency confirmation
• Financial Sanctions check
• Fraud screening though artificial intelligence technology to check metadata within the document and verify whether they are genuine
• Employers are checked for their traceability online. Employment references will only be accepted if the company providing the reference can be located online with verifiable contact details. Additional documentation will be requested to confirm employment if an employer has little or no online presence
• Applicant information (e.g., name, DOB, contact details) is cross referenced with all previously referenced applicants (across all brands – Homelet, Let Alliance and Rent 4 Sure). This allows detection of any applicants that have been referenced and failed previously for fraud, negative landlord references or have previously been in a rent guarantee claim
• Access to over 500 million data points including the largest suspicious application log in the UK
• CIFA checks providing access to the National Fraud Database to alert if a known fraudster submits a reference
• Fraudulent applications are notified to CIFAS https://www.cifas.org.uk/

Let Alliance are reporting that over the last 12 months alone some 500 applications nationwide have been found to be fraudulent, which if permitted to progress to a tenancy, would cost landlords £15 million in lost revenue and costs.

Boydens work closely with Let Alliance to thoroughly vet all applicants for the protection of our landlords.

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