Landlords are placing increased importance on tenant referencing, with over half reporting it has become more crucial since the ban on rent in advance. This shift comes as more than one million County Court Judgments (CCJs) were registered in England and Wales in 2025, marking an 11.6% increase from the previous year and the highest annual total since 2019.
Research by LRG indicates that 37.4% of landlords believe referencing has become significantly more important due to the advance rent ban, with an additional 7.8% saying it is slightly more important. Allison Thompson, chief lettings officer at Leaders part of LRG, stated that referencing has moved to being the most important decision a landlord makes before a tenancy begins.
When evaluating tenant applications, 40.6% of landlords identified employment status and income as the single most important factor. The referencing report provided by a letting agent was cited by 38.8% of landlords as the next most important factor.
Despite the increased scrutiny, the majority of tenants pass referencing checks, with 82% reporting they have always passed without issue. For the minority who have been refused, income level was the most common reason, cited by 4% of tenants.