Tenant referencing
A reference is rarely hard. It is slow, because it waits on an applicant who has not finished the form, a guarantor, or a referee who has not answered. This role watches every application and does the chasing, so your negotiators hear about a tenancy when it is ready for a decision, not every time someone needs a nudge.
The role in brief
Starts referencing applications, watches each with your provider, chases applicants and guarantors until it completes, and assembles the move-in file for a person to approve.
Your referencing provider, your lettings software and your lettings mailbox. For example, Goodlord alongside Reapit or Alto.
The lettings manager or tenancy progressor. Failed or borderline references, guarantor requests and every right to rent check go to them.
Days from application to completed reference, applications stalled, and files complete at move-in.
Who chases references today
Usually a lettings administrator, or the negotiator who agreed the let. They start the application with the referencing provider, then check its status and the inbox several times a day, chase the applicant and the guarantor, and phone whoever has gone quiet. The references that stall are waiting on someone outside the agency.
The reference that waits on one reply
Goodlord, a referencing provider, says the average referencing company should be able to complete referencing in two to five working days, but one unanswered request can hold a tenancy up for longer. The applicant waits, the landlord asks for news, and the holding deposit normally starts a 15-day deadline to agree the tenancy.
A right to rent check missed
In England every adult occupier is checked before the tenancy, again if their permission to be in the UK is time-limited. The civil penalty, up to £10,000 per occupier for a first breach and up to £20,000 for a repeat, falls on the landlord or an agent who accepted responsibility for the checks in writing.
Screening that drifts between applicants
Since May 2026 an applicant in England cannot be turned away for having children or receiving benefits, and all income is to be treated alike. Screening done by hand, one applicant at a time, drifts into different questions and different thresholds.
How the role runs, step by step
The agent does the sending, the chasing and the filing. Your people do the checks that are your legal duty, and make every decision. The questions every applicant is asked are agreed with you first.
Application
Starts the referencing application for each applicant and guarantor on the day the let is agreed, with the same questions for everyone.
Nothing.
Chasing
Watches each application's status with the provider, reminds applicants and guarantors by email at the intervals you choose, and tells the negotiator which referee is holding things up.
Any reply that disputes a fact or asks for an exception, and any phone call to an employer or landlord.
Right to rent
Asks each adult for a share code, or tells them which original documents to bring, books the check with your team and diarises the follow-up date where permission is time-limited.
The check itself. A person verifies the documents or the Home Office result and signs it off.
Move-in file
Puts the completed references, the signed tenancy, the deposit details and the certificates into one file, and lists anything missing.
The letting decision, the landlord's or yours, and approval of the file before keys are released.
Days from application to completed reference
Counted for every tenancy, from the day the application starts to the day the last reference comes back. Reviewed with you each month.
Applications stalled
How many open applications have not moved for longer than the number of days you set, and who each one is waiting on.
Files complete at move-in
The share of move-ins where every document was in the file before the keys were handed over.
Questions owners ask
Does this replace our referencing provider?
No. Your provider still runs the credit check and writes to employers and previous landlords. The agent starts each application, watches its status, chases applicants and guarantors and keeps the negotiator and the landlord informed, which is the part that lands on your administrator.
Who decides whether an applicant passes?
You do. The agent reports what the reference says and what is still missing. A failed or borderline reference, a request for a guarantor and the recommendation to the landlord all go to your lettings manager.
How does it treat applicants on benefits or with children?
The same as everyone else. It asks every applicant the same questions, which you approve in advance, and it makes no judgement about who is suitable. In England, since May 2026, an applicant cannot be turned away for having children or receiving benefits.
Do applicants know they are dealing with an AI?
Yes. Every message says it comes from an AI assistant working for your agency. Anyone who wants a person is passed to your team, with the application and everything said so far.