Reference a tenant without damaging their score
A letting decision rests on three things: that the person is who they say they are, that they manage credit sensibly, and that the rent is affordable. You can establish all three without leaving a hard footprint on the applicant's file.
The job
Get tenant referencing wrong and the cost lands months later, as arrears, a drawn-out possession, or a guarantor who turns out not to be good for it. The decision is made in a day; the consequences run for a tenancy.
The tension is speed against rigour. Applicants expect a quick answer and will walk to another property if referencing drags. But a thin check, or one that dings the applicant's score for a property they do not get, is its own problem.
The job is to confirm identity, take a proportionate view of credit, and test the rent against what the applicant can actually afford, quickly and without harming the file of someone who may be applying for several properties at once.
The product mix
Three checks, sized to a letting decision.
Confirm the applicant and, where needed, the guarantor are who they say they are.
A soft, quotation search gives a credit view without a footprint other lenders or landlords can see, and without affecting the applicant's score.
Test the rent against modelled income and expenditure, read against open banking where the margin is tight.
Footprint and permissible purpose
Use a soft (quotation) search for referencing. It gives you the credit view you need and does not leave a footprint other parties can see, which matters when an applicant is being referenced for more than one property.
Identity and affordability are not credit searches. You still need the applicant's awareness and a lawful basis for each check, which the onboarding covers.
What it looks like through Credit Canary
The applicant enters their details once. CallValidate confirms identity; a soft CallReport returns the credit view without a footprint; TU Affordability tests the rent, and where the margin is tight you can ask for an open banking connection to confirm the real figure. A guarantor can be referenced the same way.
The result is one referencing decision from one integration, at a better rate than buying each check separately, with nothing on the applicant's file for a property they do not take.
Getting access
The credit and identity data behind this job is available for a permissible purpose, and you need to be approved for the purpose that fits this use. We set the onboarding up once, so one approval covers the checks here and the rest of Credit Canary.
Credit and identity data is only available for a permissible purpose, and you need to be approved for that purpose before you can use it. We handle the integration and the onboarding once, so a single approval covers credit, identity, affordability and open banking together.
- 1Due diligenceWe run due diligence on you and submit the application to TransUnion.
- 2ApprovalTransUnion approve it and give the authority to contract.
- 3ContractWe issue your contract and pass it to TransUnion.
- 4KeysTransUnion issue your unique keys.
- 5LiveYou go live, and billing starts.
The reason to take TransUnion data through Credit Canary is a better rate, on one integration that also gives you open banking, decisioning and payments.
Related
Tenant vetting: FAQs
No, if you use a soft (quotation) search, which is the right choice for referencing. It returns a credit view without a footprint other parties can see and without affecting the score.
Yes. A guarantor can be put through the same identity, credit and affordability checks as the applicant.
TU Affordability models income and expenditure; where the margin is tight, an open banking connection confirms what the account actually shows.
Yes. They are available for a permissible purpose, and we set the approval up once across identity, credit and affordability.
Reference faster, without the footprint
Tell us how you reference tenants, and we will quote identity, a soft credit view and affordability on one integration, at a better rate.