Tenant Checks for Landlords: How Social Housing Providers Can Screen Residents

Tenant referencing checks are critical for ensuring the right people rent your properties. However, social housing providers have slightly different priorities to private landlords. 

That’s because social housing landlords prioritise providing housing to people on low incomes over making profit.

These landlords are less focused on business risk and more on ensuring the property is right for the resident.

This article explains what tenant checks for landlords are, why they are important and what they involve.

What are Tenant Checks?

Tenant referencing involves verifying certain information about a resident before you agree to rent a property to them. 

A comprehensive reference check involves proving that: 

🏠 They have the right to rent a property in the UK.

🏠 The property they have applied for suits their needs.

🏠 The cost of rent will not be too much for them.

🏠 They don’t have a history of antisocial behaviour that is likely to continue.

Usually this involves potential tenants sending documents to the landlord as proof. Examples of documents that you might ask prospective tenants to send include:

✔️Passport

✔️Bank statements

✔️References from previous landlords

✔️Proof of employment

✔️Criminal record background check

✔️Credit check

Why are Tenant Checks Important for Landlords?

Private landlords or housing associations that rent out full-priced accommodation mainly screen tenants to reduce risk to themselves. These risks include:

⚠️Loss of rental income because the prospective tenant cannot afford rent payments.

⚠️Increased costs due to damage caused by the tenant.

⚠️Loss of rental income and increased costs because the tenant moves out early if the property isn’t right for them.

However, social housing landlords have to balance these commercial concerns with their social purpose. 

Social housing associations exist to provide homes to people on low incomes. This means their tenant checks are often less stringent than those for standard property landlords. 

In 2019, one social housing landlord announced that it had stopped screening tenants for affordability altogether. 

How tenant checks benefit residents

Thorough tenant referencing checks ensure that the properties residents apply for meet their needs. 

For example, there’s no point allocating a property to someone who cannot afford it, as it would simply put them into financial hardship or lead them to default on rent payments. 

It also ensures communities are not disrupted by introducing residents who are likely to engage in criminal activity or other antisocial behaviour.

Are Tenant Checks a Legal Requirement?

Affordability checks and those related to a resident’s conduct are optional. 

However, all landlords are legally required to ensure their potential tenants have the right to rent a property in the UK.

Right to Rent Checks

Under the Immigration Act 2014, it is illegal to rent a property to anyone who does not have the right to live permanently or temporarily in the UK. 

You’ll need to ask each new tenant to prove their immigration status before signing a tenancy agreement with you.

Those who can live in the UK include:

✔️A British or Irish citizen

✔️People with the right to live, work and study in the UK for an indefinite period

✔️Those with humanitarian protection or refugee status

✔️People with settled or pre-settled status under the EU settlement scheme

✔️Those with permission to be in the UK, for example, via a work or student visa

✔️People with a time-limited right to rent issued by the Home Office

Valid documents to prove this include:

• A UK passport

• Two alternative documents, such as a driving licence and a birth certificate

• A passport or immigration documents showing that the individual is allowed to stay in the UK for a limited time
  
  

A user guide to right to rent checks can be found on the GOV.UK website. 

Council proof of residence checks

Residents usually have to have lived within the area a council administers for at least five years before they can apply for a social housing tenancy there. 

To prove this, you will need to collect the following documentation from residents:

✔️Council tax bills

✔️Recent bank statements

✔️A letter from a child’s school confirming their address

✔️Child benefit or tax credit letters

✔️Utility bills

✔️Tenancy agreements with a previous landlord

Optional Tenant Referencing Checks

Here are some additional checks for screening tenants that you may wish to conduct to ensure your residents get housing that matches their needs.

Proof of identity

You may decide it’s worth verifying the identities of everyone living in a household. You can do this by asking to see identity documents such as passports, driver’s licences or birth certificates. 

Affordability checks

Ask to see evidence that prospective residents can afford rent, plus other ongoing living costs. This could include documents to prove:

• Employment, like payslips. 

• Their income; examples include a P60 or bank statements.

• Expenditure; this could include evidence of debt repayment or child maintenance, for example.

Behaviour screening

Get references from the resident’s current or previous landlord on their conduct. Ask them to include rent receipts to prove that they pay on time. 

Unspent criminal offences

You can ask the resident to disclose any unspent criminal offences. You may wish to deny a tenancy if the person has committed offences that would make them a nuisance to the community or danger in the home. Examples include:

⚠️ Drunk and disorderly behaviour

⚠️ Burglary

⚠️ Domestic abuse

⚠️ Dealing drugs

⚠️ Damaging a property they previously lived in

You cannot ask someone to submit spent convictions or deny them a property based on them.

Should I Use a Tenant Screening Service?

A tenant screening service is when you outsource the tenant screening process to a third-party contractor. This is sometimes known as a tenant referencing service. More commercially driven private landlords more commonly use these automated systems. 

However, you may decide that it’s useful to outsource this process. The pros and cons of using a tenant referencing service are:

👍Pros

✔️Save time and resources

✔️Lower cost than doing your own screening

✔️Screen potential tenants faster

✔️Consistent approach

👎Cons:

❌Risk of errors

❌Less accountability

❌Unable to consider mitigating circumstances or make exceptions

❌Harder to prove data and financial compliance

Which Residents Should I Reject?

You should reject anyone who applies for social housing who cannot prove their right to rent, or that they have lived in the area for at least five years.

In both cases, explain why they failed and give them the chance to provide the correct documentation. This prevents people from being denied a property due to mistakes or misunderstandings. 

You cannot rent a property to the person or perform another right to rent check if they fail a second time.

There are other reasons why you might reject a tenant. These are:

• They cannot afford a property.

• They have unspent convictions or a history of anti-social behaviour that may continue.
  
  

Here are some tips to help you deal with residents who fail screening checks:

💡 If someone fails an affordability check, try to provide a more affordable alternative.

💡 If you intend to reject someone over their antisocial behaviour, you should inform them in writing and allow them to challenge your decision. Tell them that they can:

• Ask you to review your decision

• Complain to the Housing Ombudsman

• Apply for a judicial review

💡Social housing providers rarely reject residents. Instead, screening tenants is an opportunity to understand the issues they may be facing. 

💡Most social landlords will give the benefit of the doubt to any residents who fail one or two affordability screening checks. 

💡Remember that anyone you reject will still need a home, so direct them to another service that can help them.

Provide Better Housing with EVO

The tenant screening process is about understanding your residents’ needs and ensuring you allocate the right property to them.

This ensures happy residents and harmonious communities. 

Another way you can keep residents happy is to ensure the houses they live in are kept in good condition. 

That’s where EVO can help. Our digital platform allows you to outsource all of your repairs and maintenance. 

It improves communication between tenants, tradespeople and landlords and ensures repairs are carried out quickly and to a high standard.

The result is better-quality housing and a great tenant experience. Contact us to find out how EVO can help your housing association.