Tenant referencing: how long does it take?

What letting agents check

Who you are

Photo ID, such as a passport or driving licence, and your current address.

Your right to rent

A legal check on every adult who will live there, done by the landlord or agent before the tenancy starts. It is separate from the rest of referencing.

Whether you can afford the rent

Usually your income before tax against the rent. Most agents look for about 30 times the monthly rent a year, from all the tenants together. That is market practice, not law.

Your employer

Confirmation of your job and salary from your employer, or accounts and tax returns if you are self-employed.

Your previous landlord

Whether you paid the rent on time and left the home in good order.

Your credit history

A credit check for county court judgments, defaults, bankruptcy or an IVA. You cannot be charged for it.

The 30 times rule means a rent of £1,000 a month needs a yearly income of about £30,000 before tax. Work out yours with how much rent can I afford.

What slows it down

• Your employer or last landlord not replying. This is the most common hold-up, and the one you can do most about.
• Being self-employed, on a new contract, or paid in cash, so your income takes more checking.
• Needing a guarantor. Their referencing is a second set of checks, and only starts once they fill in the form.
• Something on your credit file that needs explaining.
• Missing or mistyped details on your application.
• Your right to rent check, if your share code has expired or doesn’t work.

How to speed it up: documents to have ready

• Photo ID: passport or driving licence. If you have an eVisa or EU Settlement Scheme status, a right to rent share code.
• Your employer’s details, including the name and email of someone in HR or your manager who will answer quickly.
• Recent payslips and bank statements, in case they are asked for.
• If self-employed: your last one or two years of tax returns (HMRC’s SA302 tax calculations and tax year overviews) or accounts.
• Your current or last landlord’s or agent’s name, email and phone number.
• Your previous addresses, with dates.
• If you need one, your guarantor’s details, and a warning to them that a form is on its way.

Tell your employer and last landlord that a request is coming, and ask them to reply that day. Fill in the application as soon as you get the link. If your status is held digitally, get your right to rent share code before you apply: it takes a few minutes and lasts 90 days.

If you need a guarantor

A guarantor agrees to pay the rent if you don’t. Agents usually want them to earn about 36 times the monthly rent a year, and they are referenced too, so the whole thing waits for them. A landlord can ask every applicant for a guarantor, but since 1 May 2026 can’t ask only people on benefits. Before anyone signs, read what a guarantor should check first. If your credit history is the problem, see renting with bad credit.

Failed a reference check? What to do next

A failed reference usually comes down to one thing: income below the agent’s rule, something on your credit file, a poor reference from a previous landlord, or a right to rent check that didn’t go through. Ask the agent which it was. What you can do depends on the answer.

• Income too low: offer a guarantor, add another earner to the tenancy, or ask whether the landlord will consider savings as proof you can pay.
• Something on your credit file: check your own report free with Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, and ask for anything wrong to be corrected. If it’s accurate, a short written explanation can help.
• A poor landlord reference: ask what it said. If it was arrears you have since cleared, show proof of payment.
• Right to rent: check your share code hasn’t expired, and get a new one if it has.

Since 1 May 2026 a landlord can’t take more than one month’s rent in advance on a new tenancy, so offering several months upfront is no longer an option. If you don’t have a family member who can be a guarantor, a professional guarantor service is the usual alternative. What Goodlord, HomeLet, Vouch and Canopy each check is in our guide to referencing companies. And if the landlord decides not to go ahead, your holding deposit has to be repaid within 7 days unless one of the specific reasons below applies.

Your holding deposit while you wait

A holding deposit is capped at one week’s rent. Work out the most you can be asked for with the holding deposit calculator. If referencing fails and the landlord decides not to go ahead, it must be repaid within 7 days, unless one of four specific reasons applies. If they keep it, they must tell you why in writing within 7 days of deciding. How to get it back is in our holding deposit refund guide.

Passing referencing is not the end. Until you both sign, the home is let agreed, not let. See what let agreed means.

Where this comes from

The holding deposit rules are in Schedule 2 to the Tenant Fees Act 2019 and GOV.UK’s statutory guidance, as amended by the Renters’ Rights Act 2025. The fee ban is in GOV.UK’s Tenant Fees Act guidance for tenants and its longer guide for tenants. Right to rent is from Check your tenant’s right to rent, rent in advance from Rent in advance and deposits, and benefits and guarantors from GOV.UK’s guidance on rental discrimination. Referencing times are the companies’ own published figures: the NRLA and HomeLet. The income multiples are market practice, not law.

This guide covers common private tenancies in England and is general information, not legal advice. Different rules apply in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and to lodgers, social housing and some specialist accommodation. RenterCheck is independent and not a referencing company.