Being referenced by HomeLet
There’s a good chance that your letting agent or landlord will ask us to carry out a reference on you before you move into your new home.
You’ll be asked to fill out an application form and sign a declaration to give your consent.
All our references include a credit search, so we’ll check the following:
- Up to two credit bureaus for any adverse credit history, such as bankruptcy, County Court Judgments (CCJs) and court decrees
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Whether you have any previous names or addresses you haven't disclosed
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Whether there’s any undisclosed credit history linked to your current and most recent homes
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Any bank account details you provide are for a genuine bank account
Bad credit history? Don’t panic
This doesn’t automatically mean you’ll be declined.
The best thing to do is be honest and declare your credit history upfront. It’s failing to disclose these things which is more likely to see you declined.
Check your free credit report
As part of your tenant application, your credit report and score will be checked.
It’s a good idea to sign up for your free credit report with TotallyMoney, so you can see what your agent sees. You’ll see up to six years of your credit history, find out why your credit score is what it is, and get tips on how to improve it. Plus, it’s a good opportunity to check all the info on your report is correct.
If something’s not right, it’s easy to get it sorted so it doesn’t impact your tenant application.
Improving your credit score could make renting a home much simpler, now and in the future, as you’re more likely to pass your checks. What’s more, it’s totally free, forever. So, if you need to move again in the future, you can check your report again.
Fraudulent applications
If false or inaccurate information is provided and fraud is identified, details will be passed to fraud prevention agencies.
Law enforcement agencies may access and use this information.
We may also access and use this information to prevent fraud and money laundering, for example, when:
- Checking details on applications for credit and credit-related or other facilities
- Managing credit and credit-related accounts or facilities
- Recovering debt
- Checking details on proposals and claims for all types of insurance
- Checking details of job applicants and employees
Please get in touch with us at connect@homelet.co.uk if you want to receive details of the relevant fraud prevention agencies.
We and other organisations may access and use from other countries the information recorded by fraud prevention agencies.
Tracking your application
You can track your referencing application online. We’ll send you an email with all the login information, and then you need to visit the Tenant Application Tracker to view your progress.
What happens when your application is complete?
Once we’ve finished the referencing process, your application will show as ‘Complete’ online. This means that the information has been sent back to your letting agent.
It’s important to remember that your letting agent may carry out some additional checks after we’ve returned your reference, so please wait for them to contact you about your application for the property.