The short answer
A landlord cannot open someone’s credit file directly. You order the check through a referencing service, which runs it with a credit reference agency using the applicant’s name, date of birth and the addresses they have lived at, once the applicant has agreed. You choose the service and the level of check, and you pay for it.
This page is about where to order one and how the options compare on price and on what comes back. What the report itself contains, and how data protection applies to it, is in the blog guide to tenant credit checks linked at the end.
Credit check or full reference: which to buy
- A credit check on its own shows how the applicant has handled credit at the addresses they gave. It is quick and costs less, and it says nothing about whether they can afford your rent or how they left their last home
- A full reference adds affordability against your rent, their employment and a reference from their previous landlord. The applicant fills in their own part, so it takes longer
For most new lets the full reference answers the real question: will this person pay this rent? A credit check alone suits a quick first screen, or someone you already have good reason to trust, such as a partner moving in with a tenant who has paid on time for years.
Your options, and what each costs
- Doing it yourself. Free. Ask for bank statements, payslips and a previous landlord’s number. You cannot see a credit file this way, and documents can be edited
- OpenRent. Its pricing page lists tenant and guarantor referencing at £30 each (read 20 October 2026). It suits landlords already letting through OpenRent
- A letting agent. Referencing is usually part of a tenant-find or management fee rather than priced alone. Sensible if the agent is finding the tenant anyway, expensive if referencing was all you wanted
- LetCompliance. A credit check is £12.99, a full reference £24.99 and a guarantor reference £19.99, paid per check, with no subscription needed for the check itself
Whichever you choose, you pay for it, not the tenant. The law section below explains why.
What to compare before you order
Two services at the same price can be selling different checks. Before you pay, look at:
- What the price covers. A credit search alone, or affordability, employment and a previous landlord as well
- Who fills in the details. Where the applicant completes their own form, the details come from them and they see what is being checked. Where you type everything, a mistyped postcode is yours to put right
- How long it takes, and why. An automatic credit match can be back in minutes. A full reference waits on an employer and a previous landlord, typically 1 to 3 working days
- How affordability is worked out. It has to count income from benefits in the same way as wages. Ask how the service treats Universal Credit before you rely on its answer
How it works in LetCompliance
Open Referencing and choose the applicant. If they applied through your LetCompliance advert, their date of birth, current and previous address, how long they have lived at the current one and their current landlord are carried across from the application, so none of it is typed twice.
- Credit check, £12.99. Enter the date of birth and the address history, then tick to confirm the applicant has given permission. With three years of addresses that match their credit file the result is usually back in minutes; if the details do not match, a person reviews it and it takes 1 to 3 working days. It is available inside an account only
- Full reference, £24.99. Give the applicant’s email and the rent. They receive their own form to complete, and the check covers credit, affordability, employment and their previous landlord. It typically takes 1 to 3 working days
- Guarantor reference, £19.99. A credit-backed affordability check on the person standing behind the tenancy, linked to the tenant’s own reference
Every check runs through a regulated UK credit reference agency and is paid for before it starts, on any plan, the free plan included. The finished report opens from a secure link rather than arriving as an email attachment, because it holds someone else’s credit data.
Not signed up? The full and guarantor references can be ordered from the order page without an account. A credit check on its own is ordered from inside an account.
Before you order, have these ready
- An affordability screen. Ask for their income when they enquire. A common first screen is a gross annual income of at least 30 times the monthly rent, with benefit income counted like any other, and the free rent affordability calculator works it out, with what a guarantor would need
- Their permission. Tell them which check you are running, who runs it and why
- Their details as their bank has them. Full name, date of birth and every address for the last three years. A missing flat number or an old postcode is the usual reason an automatic check drops into a manual review
The law, briefly
- The tenant cannot be charged for it. GOV.UK’s “Fees you can charge as part of a tenancy” (updated 7 July 2026, read 20 October 2026) lists what a tenant in England can be asked to pay and says you cannot charge any payment that is not on the list. Referencing is not on it. Section 1 of the Tenant Fees Act 2019 and its Schedule 1 set this out in law (legislation.gov.uk, read 20 October 2026)
- Benefits count as income. GOV.UK’s “Rental discrimination: a guide for landlords” (read 20 October 2026) says an affordability check must include income from benefits in the same way as other income, and that a referencing company ignoring it is treated as discrimination. Someone who genuinely cannot afford the rent can still be turned down
- Right to Rent is a separate duty. GOV.UK’s “Checking your tenant’s right to rent” says every tenant aged 18 or over must be checked before a new tenancy starts, even if they are not named on the agreement (read 20 October 2026)
- Rent in advance is capped. GOV.UK’s “Assured periodic tenancies: a guide for landlords” says that after the agreement is signed and before the tenancy starts the most you can usually ask for is one month’s rent, or 28 days’ rent where rent is not paid monthly (read 20 October 2026). Months of rent up front can no longer make up for a weak reference
Common mistakes
- Paying for a full reference before checking the income covers the rent
- Typing an address differently from the way the applicant’s bank has it, which turns a check of minutes into one of days
- Leaving benefit income out of the affordability sum, or turning someone down because they receive benefits
- Reading a clean credit file as proof of affordability. Someone with no debts can still earn too little for the rent
- Asking the applicant to pay for their own reference
How do private landlords do credit checks?
The same way agents do: through a referencing service, paying per check. No agent licence or business account is needed to order one.
Can you run a credit check on someone without their permission in the UK?
Do not try. In LetCompliance a credit check cannot be ordered without confirming the applicant has agreed, and a full reference is completed by the applicant, so they always know. Tell them before you order which check you are running and why.
Is there a free tenant credit check in the UK?
Not a credit-backed one. The free parts are the affordability screen, the applicant’s own bank statements and payslips, and a call to their previous landlord. The credit search itself is paid, from £12.99 in LetCompliance.
What if the applicant fails the check?
Ask why before you say no: one old default is not the same as recent arrears. The usual way forward is a guarantor with their own reference, and the free guarantor agreement template covers the deed. Extra rent up front is no longer an answer beyond the one-month cap.
What LetCompliance does not do here
- It is never a secret check: the applicant takes part every time
- It does not decide for you. The report is the agency’s, and whether to let is your call
- The reference does not include Right to Rent. Record that check on the tenant separately
- It does not sell rent guarantee insurance
