Data provenance

Where our information comes from

Every figure in a RenterCheck report can be traced to a named source: a public dataset, a published figure or the law itself. This is the full list, with what each one covers and where it stops.

In every check

The free property check, and the free part of every paid report.

Energy Performance of Buildings register

Published by Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

What we take from it: EPC rating, potential rating, floor area, property type, heating, assessed running costs and certificate dates.
How often we refresh: Cached for 30 days per property. Certificates are valid for ten years.
What it does not tell you: Records certificates that have been lodged. An address with no certificate on the register is not proof that none was ever issued.

planning.data.gov.uk

Published by Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

What we take from it: Flood-risk zones, conservation areas, listed building outlines, Article 4 directions and Green Belt.
How often we refresh: Cached for 14 days per location.
What it does not tell you: We match designations to the postcode location. For a large postcode or a property on a boundary, confirm the exact position with the local planning authority.

HM Land Registry Price Paid Data

Published by HM Land Registry

What we take from it: Completed sales in England and Wales since 1995.
How often we refresh: Cached for 60 days per postcode. Published records do not change once made.
What it does not tell you: Matched by house number or name, because Price Paid Data carries no UPRN. A sale price is not a valuation and not a rent.

Companies House

Published by Companies House

What we take from it: Company status, incorporation date, registered office, officers and filing history.
How often we refresh: Cached for 24 hours per company.
What it does not tell you: Records what a company has filed. It does not confirm that the company is the landlord or agent for a particular property, and says nothing about service quality.

ONS Postcode Directory, via postcodes.io

Published by Office for National Statistics

What we take from it: Postcode coordinates, country and local authority district.
How often we refresh: Cached for 30 days per postcode.
What it does not tell you: Coordinates are the postcode centroid, not the exact position of a building.

Street-level crime

Published by The police forces of England and Wales, at data.police.uk

What we take from it: Crimes recorded within about a quarter of a mile of the property over the last 12 months of published data, by type and by where they were recorded. We compare the total with about 500 randomly chosen postcodes in England, counted the same way.
How often we refresh: Cached for 30 days per location. Forces publish about two months behind.
What it does not tell you: Crimes are mapped to an anonymised point near where they happened, not an exact address. It shows recorded crime, not risk, and not every crime is reported. Greater Manchester Police does not currently publish its data, and other forces sometimes miss a month.

In our free tools

Figures used by the standalone tools, beyond those in every check.

Price Index of Private Rents

Published by Office for National Statistics

What we take from it: The average private rent in each council in England, by number of bedrooms and type of home, and how it has changed over a year. Used by the average rent by postcode tool.
How often we refresh: Updated after each monthly release.
What it does not tell you: An average of every private tenancy in the council, including long-running ones, so it is usually below the rent advertised for a home today. It describes a whole council, not a street or a home. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In Complete RenterCheck

The paid report adds these. Several reach us through a commercial data provider that gathers them from the organisations that publish them. We name the original publisher in each case.

Homes advertised to rent nearby

Published by The major property listing portals

What we take from it: Asking rents for similar homes advertised nearby, for the rent comparison. The report lists the adverts it compared: address, rent, bedrooms, property type, distance, when each was listed and whether it is let agreed.
How often we refresh: Retrieved when you buy the report, and kept with it.
What it does not tell you: These are asking rents, not the rents finally agreed. We compare only when there are at least 15 similar homes within 5 miles, and say how far away they are. With fewer, the report says so and gives no comparison. Adverts sometimes give the wrong property type, and do not reliably say whether a home is furnished or includes bills.

Council tax list

Published by Valuation Office Agency

What we take from it: The council tax band for the home, and the council’s charge for each band.
How often we refresh: Retrieved when you buy the report, and kept with it.
What it does not tell you: When we can’t match the exact home to its entry, the report gives the range of bands at that address instead of guessing. Charges are the council’s average for each band, so a parish charge can make yours a little different.

Energy price cap and typical household use

Published by Ofgem

What we take from it: Unit rates and standing charges for gas and electricity, and typical household use, to price the energy estimate.
How often we refresh: Updated each quarter, when the price cap changes.
What it does not tell you: The cap limits the price per unit, not your bill. What you pay depends on your tariff and how you live.

Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP)

Published by Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

What we take from it: The factors that turn the energy figure on an energy certificate into the gas and electricity a household buys.
How often we refresh: Fixed for each version of SAP. We use the version the certificate was assessed under.
What it does not tell you: Energy certificates tend to overestimate the energy older, less efficient homes use, so the estimate can be high for them.

Average household water bill

Published by Water UK, published by Discover Water

What we take from it: The average water and sewerage bill in England and Wales for 2026/27.
How often we refresh: Updated each year, when new charges are published.
What it does not tell you: An average, not your water company’s charge. A metered bill depends on how much you use.

Broadband availability and prices

Published by Ofcom

What we take from it: How much of the postcode can get superfast and gigabit broadband (from Ofcom’s Connected Nations data), and the typical monthly price of superfast broadband.
How often we refresh: Availability is retrieved when you buy the report. The price is updated when Ofcom publishes a new figure.
What it does not tell you: Availability is for the postcode, not the building. No public source gives broadband prices for an address.

Planning applications

Published by Local planning authorities

What we take from it: Planning applications from the last three years within a quarter of a mile, with any for the building itself flagged.
How often we refresh: Retrieved when you buy the report, and kept with it.
What it does not tell you: Collected from council planning websites, which differ in how complete and up to date they are. Check the council’s own planning website before relying on an application.

HMO licence registers

Published by Local councils

What we take from it: Whether the home is on the council’s public register of licensed houses in multiple occupation, and when its licence expires.
How often we refresh: Retrieved when you buy the report, and kept with it.
What it does not tell you: Each council publishes its own register and some are out of date. A home missing from a register may still be licensed, and not every shared home needs a licence.

Flood risk: rivers and the sea, and surface water

Published by Environment Agency

What we take from it: The chance of flooding each year from rivers and the sea, allowing for defences, and from surface water, from the national flood risk assessment. We show the highest chance within about 50 m of the centre of the postcode.
How often we refresh: Cached for 30 days per location.
What it does not tell you: These map an area, not a building, and are computer models. They don’t cover groundwater or burst pipes. Check the exact address on the government’s long term flood risk service.

Schools, Ofsted inspections and exam results

Published by Department for Education and Ofsted

What we take from it: The nearest state-funded primary and secondary schools from Get Information about Schools, each school’s latest Ofsted inspection from Ofsted’s monthly management information, and key stage 2 and key stage 4 results from the Department for Education.
How often we refresh: Rebuilt each school term, and when Ofsted or the Department for Education publish new figures.
What it does not tell you: Nearest is a straight-line distance from the centre of the home’s postcode, not admissions. A school is placed where the register puts it, or at its own postcode when the two are more than 500 m apart. Independent and special schools are not listed. Small schools’ results vary from year to year, and some are withheld.

Stations, bus stops and bus timetables

Published by Department for Transport

What we take from it: Where every railway station, Underground, DLR, tram and metro stop and bus stop is, from the National Public Transport Access Nodes register (NaPTAN), and which buses call at each bus stop on a sample weekday, from the timetables bus companies publish through the Bus Open Data Service.
How often we refresh: Rebuilt each quarter.
What it does not tell you: Distances are straight lines from the centre of the home’s postcode; the walk is longer. Buses are counted from 7am to 7pm on one weekday, in both directions, and timetables change. Heritage railways are left out.

GP practices and pharmacies

Published by NHS England and the NHS Business Services Authority

What we take from it: Active GP practices and branch surgeries from NHS England’s organisation register, and community pharmacies from the NHSBSA’s consolidated pharmaceutical list, each placed at the centre of its postcode.
How often we refresh: Rebuilt each quarter.
What it does not tell you: A practice may not be taking new patients, or the home may be outside its area. A few pharmacies serve customers online only; we leave out those whose names say so.

Grocery stores

Published by GEOLYTIX

What we take from it: GEOLYTIX Retail Points: the stores of the major grocery chains, including convenience formats, with their size.
How often we refresh: Rebuilt each quarter, when GEOLYTIX publishes a new version.
What it does not tell you: Independent shops and chains such as One Stop, Nisa and Londis aren’t included. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right, Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right, and National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right.

Parks

Published by Ordnance Survey

What we take from it: OS Open Greenspace: public parks and gardens, measured to their nearest entrance.
How often we refresh: Rebuilt every six months.
What it does not tell you: Other green space, such as playing fields and countryside, isn’t listed. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database rights 2026.

Road and rail noise

Published by Defra

What we take from it: Defra’s strategic noise maps (Round 4, 2022): modelled road and rail noise across England in 10 m squares, over the day and at night, read at the home’s point through the Environment Agency’s map service.
How often we refresh: Redone every five years. We keep a lookup for 30 days.
What it does not tell you: Modelled from 2021 traffic at 4 m above the ground, not measured. The maps start at 40 dB (35 dB at night), so a home off the map isn’t silent.

Air pollution

Published by Defra

What we take from it: Defra’s background pollution maps: nitrogen dioxide, PM2.5 and PM10 for every 1 km square in England, projected from 2021 to this year. Air Quality Management Areas as Defra lists them, from Planning Data.
How often we refresh: Rebuilt each year for the new projection.
What it does not tell you: A background level for the square, usually lower than right beside a busy road. Projections, not measurements.

Mobile signal

Published by Ofcom

What we take from it: Ofcom’s prediction of 4G and 5G signal from EE, Three, O2 and Vodafone at each address, indoors and outdoors, in Ofcom’s own words. We match the home by its address reference or house number, or show the range across its postcode.
How often we refresh: Ofcom updates quarterly. We keep a lookup for up to four weeks.
What it does not tell you: Coverage is modelled from the networks’ data, not measured, and may differ from the networks’ own maps. Check your provider’s coverage checker too.

Broadband speeds

Published by Ofcom

What we take from it: Ofcom’s prediction of the fastest broadband available at each address, in its own Basic, Superfast and Ultrafast categories, with download and upload speeds. We match the home by its address reference or house number, or show what is predicted across its postcode.
How often we refresh: Ofcom republishes twice a year. We keep a lookup for up to four weeks.
What it does not tell you: Speeds are predicted by the networks that would supply them, not measured, and are the fastest each connection is expected to manage rather than the speed of a package on sale. Ofcom has no prediction for every home; where it has none, that does not mean broadband is unavailable.

Journeys to work

Published by Google Maps and Transport for London

What we take from it: Journey times by public transport, car and bike from the home to a workplace postcode you enter, for a weekday arriving by 9am. Transport for London plans and prices public transport within London; Google Maps plans everything else. Costs use TfL’s pay as you go fares, the national bus fare cap, and HMRC’s approved mileage and advisory fuel rates.
How often we refresh: Planned each time you ask. Nothing is saved.
What it does not tell you: Journeys run between the centres of the two postcodes, for one weekday. Train fares outside London aren’t included. Mileage rates cover running a car, not parking, and are estimates, not what your car will cost.

Selective and additional licensing schemes

Published by Local councils

What we take from it: Whether a council scheme requires a licence for rented homes in the area: selective licensing for homes let to one household, and additional licensing for smaller shared homes. We read each scheme from the council’s own pages and designation documents.
How often we refresh: Checked by hand against each council’s pages. The report shows when, and stops relying on a council’s record after four months.
What it does not tell you: Covers 25 councils with large rented sectors, not all of England: Barking and Dagenham, Birmingham, Brent, Bristol, Croydon, Ealing, Enfield, Greenwich, Hackney, Haringey, Lambeth, Leeds, Leicester, Lewisham, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Newham, Nottingham, Redbridge, Salford, Sheffield, Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest. A scheme drawn on a map or on parts of wards can’t be matched to an address, so the report says it may apply. It shows whether a scheme covers the area, not whether the home is licensed.

Title and ownership data

Published by HM Land Registry

What we take from it: The title number and the type of registered owner. A company owner is named and checked on Companies House. For a private owner, we say only that the owner is a private individual.
How often we refresh: HM Land Registry updates this data monthly. Retrieved when you buy the report.
What it does not tell you: It is not the official title register. For the legal record, buy the title register from HM Land Registry for £7. For a flat, it usually shows who owns the building, not the flat.

The law we apply

The deposit and upfront payment limits are worked out from the legislation itself.

Tenant Fees Act 2019

Published by legislation.gov.uk

What we take from it: The limits on holding deposits and tenancy deposits, and the fees a landlord or agent may and may not charge.
How often we refresh: Checked whenever the law changes.
What it does not tell you: Covers most private tenancies in England. Lodgings, company lets and some other arrangements are covered differently.

Renters’ Rights Act 2025

Published by GOV.UK

What we take from it: From 1 May 2026: no rent before you sign, at most one month’s rent in advance, and no offers above the advertised rent.
How often we refresh: Checked whenever the law changes.
What it does not tell you: Applies to most private tenancies in England. We show the law as it stands, not advice on your tenancy.

Licensing

RenterCheck contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. It contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right, and Energy Performance of Buildings data published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Rental listings, council tax, planning, licensing and ownership data in Complete RenterCheck is supplied to us under licence. The ownership data contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right. Crime data is published by the police at data.police.uk under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Maps © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database Licence.

If you believe something we have shown is wrong, email hello@rentercheck.co.uk with the address and what you expected. Where the underlying dataset is wrong we will tell you who publishes it and how to get it corrected.