Tenant referencing

Tenant referencing is a crucial area that is often neglected. Regardless of whether you let one or a portfolio of properties, you must be assured that your prospective tenant is of general good character and standing.

CBS analyses the personal data held by credit reference agencies alongside data resulting from enhanced checks that are proven to detect undesirable, high risk or fraudulent prospective tenants. Tenant Verification Checks can include Criminal Checks, Credit Reports, Identity Checks, References from previous landlords and confirmation of employment and salary - all are very important parts of the background screening and verifying process. The successful landlord will eliminate 95% plus of all letting problems through careful background screening and selection of tenants.

Referencing is made up of four main searches:

• Credit Report
• Identity report
• Employment confirmation
• Landlord recommendation
• Criminal checks (optional)

Credit checks

• Confirmation of placement on Electoral Register
• Credit Score
• Confirmation of identity
• Any financial associations with another person
• Any aliases the individual has previously been known as
• Address links are created through movement of credit account information sharing (CAIS)
• Public Information, eg, CCJs, Receiving Orders, Notices of Bankruptcy, Orders of Discharge, Adjudication Annulled, etc.

Identity Reports

Many referencing agencies include an identity report as part of the credit report by assuming a identification is confirmed may matching details to the Electoral Roll, however, this is not correct. The key to our identity checks is rapid access to 500 million consumer information records, the largest database of its kind in the UK today, enabling CBS to conduct the following:

• Determine whether the individual exists by using independent data sources to confirm the validity of the information provided
• Check that individual’s are who they say they are by a unique verification system
• Check the level of trust in an individual’s identity using an Authentication Index

Employment confirmation

CBS will contact current employers and request confirmation of the following:

• Position held
• Starting date
• Salary
• Permanent status of position

Landlord referencing

CBS will contact previous landlords and request further information regarding the potential tenant. The following points are all covered in the thorough report:

• Record of rental payments made on time
• Record of complaints from neighbours or individuals in the surrounding area.
• Details of inspections and standard of property
• Confirmation that the tenant is recommended for future tenancy agreements.

Additional Information

Company reports

CBS are also able to provide company reports for those wishing to let commercial properties, detailing the following:

• Credit rating & limit
• Public record information, ie, Mortgages, legal notices, CCJs, etc.
• Full accounts (including profit & loss, assets, etc.)
• Payment information & unpaid accounts
• Corporate Structure, ie. Parent companies, shareholder & subsidiaries for UK and overseas
• Current & previous Directorships & secretary ships

Testimonials

"Keylet have been working with the team at CBS since November 2007, we have found the service to be without fault, detailed reports giving us a clear picture of the clients we are having referenced, speed at which reports are returned to us is excellent, having dedicated team members who deal with Keylet has proved to be fantastic, we used a national reference agency before where you could only ever speak to a call centre & couldn’t get the service or the continuity that we receive from CBS. We would have no hesitation in recommending CBS to other agencies, it has certainly taken the stress & worry out of such an essential part of property letting & management."
Julie Hollidge (Executive Branch Manager) Keylet Properties

"We've tried the rest, now we only use the best. Having being involved in property management for over 20 years we have always appreciated the benefits of good quality referencing and credit checks when considering the suitability of tenants and ensuring we continue to look after the best interests of our client landlords. With ever increasing cases of identity fraud it is essential we have confidence in our referencing provider, which we are pleased to have found with CBS."
David Weston (Director) Leek & Weston Ltd

Costs