For renters
How long does tenant referencing take in England?
Tenant referencing in England usually takes about two to three working days. The full range runs from same-day at the quickest to around five working days if a referee is slow to reply, but 48 to 72 hours is the common case. The single biggest thing that changes the timeline is how quickly the people being contacted, normally an employer and a previous landlord, reply to their reference requests.
What tenant referencing actually is
Referencing is the set of background checks a landlord or letting agent, or a referencing company acting for them, carries out before offering you a tenancy. It usually looks at three things: confirming who you are, whether the rent sits comfortably against your income, and how your previous tenancy went. It is a routine part of renting in England, and it is separate from the Right to Rent check, which is a legal duty the law places on the landlord.
Referencing is arranged and paid for by the landlord or agent, not by you. Under the Tenant Fees Act 2019, they cannot pass a referencing fee on to a tenant in England.
A realistic timeline
- Same day to 24 hours. The quickest cases, where everything is submitted online, first time, and matches your documents.
- 48 to 72 hours. The common case, once an employer and a previous landlord have replied to the requests sent to them.
- Up to five working days or a little longer. When a referee is slow to answer, when you are self-employed or newly in a job, or when a document has to be re-sent because it could not be read.
Weekends, bank holidays and the busy autumn moving season can each add a day or two, because so much of the timeline depends on other people replying.
What tends to slow things down
- Referees who do not reply. This is the most common hold-up by far. A quick heads-up to your employer and former landlord, telling them a request is on its way, makes a real difference.
- Details that do not match. An address that reads differently across two documents, or a gap in your dates, means someone has to come back to you before things can move on.
- Documents that are hard to read. Blurred photos of payslips or bank statements often have to be sent again, which quietly adds a day.
How to be ready before you enquire
Most of the waiting is out of your hands, because it depends on other people replying. The part you can control, having clear, readable documents ready before you enquire, is exactly where the easy time savings are. It helps to have:
- Photo identification, such as a passport or driving licence.
- Proof of your current address.
- Proof of income: recent payslips, or if you are self-employed, accounts or a letter from your accountant.
- Recent bank statements.
- Contact details for your employer and for your previous landlord or agent.
Save them somewhere you can find them quickly, and make sure every photo or scan is clear and readable. If you want a fuller list, we have a separate renter checklist of the documents landlords and agents commonly ask for.
Sort your details once, then stop repeating yourself
When you are viewing several homes at once, you often end up sending the same documents and the same details to one landlord after another. A renter profile takes that repetition away. You gather your renting information in one place, keep it current, and keep it current. Building a renter profile is not charged for.
One thing to be clear about: a renter profile does not carry out referencing and does not make any decision about you. Referencing is always run by the landlord, agent or their referencing provider, because that is who arranges it. A profile simply means that when the process does begin, your details are ready to go, instead of scattered across your phone during moving week.
Sources
The primary sources behind this guide. Where the law and a summary disagree, the law is what counts. How we write these guides.