Tenant referencing is the process of checking the potential suitability of an applicant for a landlord's property. The process involves checking their ID, credit, residential history, and income and affordability.

30% of Goodlord’s references are returned instantly, 70% within 24 hours, and 90% within 72 hours. 
In the lettings industry, a typical tenant referencing process usually takes two to five working days, and often longer in sectors like retail, banking, or the public sector, where corporate processes can be slow. This timeframe allows for identity verification, credit checks, income verification, and reference checks from previous landlords and employers.

Although completing checks in just two days is ideal, many agents and tenants experience delays. Missing information, slow responses, and communication issues can extend the process - especially when a referencing provider lacks a well-structured system to manage applications efficiently.

Open Banking enables tenants to securely share their financial data straight from their bank account with referencing providers. With a single, read-only connection to verified account information, providers can quickly assess a tenant’s financial situation. This significantly speeds up the referencing process, often allowing checks to be completed within the same day.

Note: Tenants must have online or mobile banking set up to use Open Banking.

Launched in 2017 by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), Open Banking was designed to give consumers more control over their financial data by letting them safely share transaction details with approved third-party providers. These trusted providers can then offer services that save users time and money.
Every third-party provider must pass strict checks and receive authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) (or the equivalent regulator in Europe) before gaining access to data such as bank transactions, credit card activity, and loans.

In the lettings sector, Identity Document Validation Technology (IDVT) is used to digitally check tenants’ identity documents, such as passports and driving licences. It also plays a crucial role in confirming a tenant’s right to rent, addressing the limitations of manual checks. These services are delivered by government-certified Identity Service Providers (IDSPs).

IDVT relies on a combination of advanced digital tools to spot fraud and verify authenticity, including:

• Biometric verification: Uses facial recognition to confirm that a tenant’s appearance matches their official documents.
  
  
• Remote right-to-rent checks: Enables tenants to complete the process online, without needing to be physically present.
  
  
• Liveness and visual analysis: Confirms that the person being checked is physically present and not using a static image or pre-recorded video.
  
  
• Amberhill database check: Matches identity documents against the UK police database to identify those that are lost, stolen, or fraudulent.
  
  
• NFC passport chip reading: Instantly validates passport data using a mobile device.

Together, these features make IDVT a faster, more secure, and more accurate way to confirm tenant identities, keeping you compliant while making the process simpler and more convenient for applicants.

Your referencing reports will include one of our referencing recommendations: pass, conditional pass, or fail.

You can choose our Essential tier for your student applicants, as this simply does a credit and ID check, allowing you to complete their reference and request a guarantor quickly. Any guarantors will then follow a similar referencing journey to the tenants on the Goodlord platform.

Goodlord is the NRLA’s official and exclusive tenant referencing partner. The NRLA became the first organisation to adopt Goodlord’s Public Referencing API, which embeds Goodlord’s industry-leading tenant referencing directly into the NRLA platform.

This integration will power all future referencing services for members, providing quick, reliable tenant checks - without requiring them to use Goodlord’s full software suite.