Tenant referencing has become more important since the ban on advance rent payments and a surge in. County Court Judgements (CCJs).
That’s the view from lettings agency Leaders, which has drawn up a report based on responses from 717 landlords and 860 tenants.
Leaders says the financial backdrop against which landlords are making referencing decisions has deteriorated significantly.
It cites Registry Trust as recording almost 1.02 million new consumer CCJs registered in England and Wales in 2025 – an 11.6% increase year on year and the highest annual total since 2019.
Separate analysis by LexisNexis Risk Solutions found that 3.14m UK adults – 6% of the adult population – have at least one CCJ or other negative financial event on their credit profile.
Leaders says: “With 12.9m people living in the private rented sector, landlords are increasingly likely to encounter applicants with adverse credit during the referencing process.
“Under the Renters Rights Act, with Section 21 gone and advance rent restricted to one month, landlords can no longer rely on financial buffers to manage that risk after a tenancy begins. The checks done before a tenancy starts are now their most important protection.
Leaders’ survey shows how landlords are responding.
Some 41.7% say they rely on their letting agent to manage the referencing process – the single most common response.
Of those taking a more active view, 37.4% say referencing has become significantly more important since the advance rent ban, with a further 7.8% saying slightly more important. Only 13.1% say it was always their primary consideration and nothing has changed.
Together, the data shows that almost nine in ten landlords either regard referencing as more important than before or delegate it to a professional agent.
When asked to identify the single most important factor in deciding whether to accept a tenant application, employment status and income came first at 40.6%, followed closely by the referencing report provided by their letting agent at 38.8%.
Together, those two responses account for nearly eight in ten landlords surveyed.
Previous landlord references, credit history and gut feeling all trail significantly behind.
