One of the first steps in checking a tenant is to verify their identity. Whilst we can verify identities against financial accounts and other sources we cannot verify the photo identity. The very first step should be that you check the tenant’s identity against a passport, or failing that a driving licence identity card.
From the identity provided by the tenant you will have their name and date of birth, verified by the person standing in front of you bearing a true likeness of the photo identity provided. You now have most of the information needed to carry out an on-line check.
The next most important piece of information is an address verification. Ask the tenant to provide a document linking their name with the address they say they are living at. This document could be an invoice for council tax, a bank statement, a utility bill, etc. Do not accept a letter from another person or employer, these do not provide sufficient evidence. If the tenant does not have any document for their current address then ask them for a document linking them to a previous address.
You are now ready to proceed with your on-line tenant check.
Depending on which report option you choose you may need other information ranging from income and expenditure through to employer details. For each report option you will find a link where you can view and print off a form containing all of the information required.
When submitting the tenant information on-line it is important that you enter the correct spelling of their name, their date of birth, and the last verified address that you were provided. With this information we can search court databases, financial databases, electoral register, and other databases depending on the report option selected.
