Tighter Tenant Vetting: What the Renters' Rights Act 2025 Means for Landlords

Introduction

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 fundamentally reshapes the rental landscape in England, removing landlords' ability to evict tenants without cause and banning discrimination against certain groups. These changes mean that tenant vetting—the process of checking a prospective tenant's financial reliability, background, and suitability—has become more critical to protecting your investment. This article explains why vetting is tighter, what you can and cannot do, and how to approach it properly.

Why Tenant Vetting Matters More Now

Under the old system, landlords had Section 21 "no-fault" evictions as a backstop if a tenancy went wrong. From 1 May 2026, that option disappears. All fixed-term assured tenancies will end and become periodic tenancies, giving landlords fewer grounds to remove a tenant. This shift places the burden of risk management squarely on the vetting stage. A poor choice at the beginning is far more costly to reverse.

Getting tenant selection right upfront now directly protects your rental income and property. Landlords can no longer rely on eviction as a safety net if a tenant turns out to be unreliable. This reality is driving the trend towards tighter, more thorough vetting practices across the sector.

What You Can Check: The Legal Framework

Right to Rent Checks (England Only)

Right to Rent checks under the Immigration Act 2014 apply in England only. You must verify that a prospective tenant has the legal right to rent in England before granting a tenancy. This is a mandatory check and must be carried out in person, with a copy of the tenant's original documents kept on file. Failure to perform this check can result in civil penalties.

Financial Checks

You can request references from previous landlords, credit checks, and proof of income (such as payslips or employment contracts) to assess a tenant's ability to pay rent. These checks are standard practice and help identify financial risk. Many landlords use credit reference agencies to obtain a credit score and payment history.

Employment Verification

Confirming that a prospective tenant is employed and earning sufficient income is a reasonable part of vetting. You can contact their employer directly or request a recent payslip and contract. For self-employed tenants, accounts or tax returns are appropriate evidence.

Landlord References

Contacting previous landlords to ask about rent payment history, property condition, and any disputes is standard practice. This provides insight into the tenant's behaviour as a renter and reliability.

What You Cannot Do: Protected Grounds

Discrimination Banned Under the Renters' Rights Act 2025

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 bans rental discrimination against benefit recipients and families with children. This provision applies in England, Wales, and Scotland. You cannot refuse to let to someone solely because they receive housing benefit, Universal Credit, or other state support. Similarly, you cannot discriminate against families with children. Breaching these rules can result in a civil penalty of up to £7,000, imposed by your local council.

You can still carry out financial checks on benefit recipients—assessing whether their total income (including benefits) is sufficient to cover the rent is permitted. The ban is on blanket refusals, not on reasonable financial vetting.

Protected Characteristics Under the Equality Act 2010

Discrimination on grounds of race, sex, disability, age, religion, sexual orientation, or gender reassignment is illegal under the Equality Act 2010. You cannot refuse a tenant on any of these grounds, regardless of the context. These protections apply across the UK.

Other Unlawful Grounds

You cannot discriminate on the basis of immigration status, criminal record (with limited exceptions for certain offences), or any other protected characteristic. Some criminal convictions may be considered if they are genuinely relevant to the letting (for example, violence-related convictions may be relevant to safeguarding in a shared house), but blanket bans on tenants with any criminal history are not lawful.

Tighter Screening in Practice: What Has Changed

The market response to the Renters' Rights Act 2025 has been a visible shift towards more rigorous referencing. Letting agents and landlords are now more likely to:

• Request enhanced credit checks and financial history reports
• Require proof of a minimum income threshold (often 30 times the monthly rent per year)
• Conduct more detailed employment verification
• Request multiple landlord references and contact them directly
• Ask for guarantors from younger or newly employed tenants
• Use professional referencing services rather than informal checks

These steps are lawful and reasonable, provided they are applied consistently and do not fall into any prohibited category. The aim is to reduce risk in a system where eviction is now far more difficult.

Consistency and Fairness in Your Vetting Process

Whatever vetting criteria you adopt, apply them consistently to all prospective tenants. If you ask one applicant for proof of income, ask all applicants. If you require a guarantor from a self-employed tenant, have the same requirement for other self-employed applicants. Inconsistency can look like discrimination and can expose you to challenge. Document your vetting criteria in writing and keep records of how they were applied in each case.

Be transparent with applicants about what you are checking and why. Explain that you conduct financial checks on all tenants to assess their ability to pay rent sustainably, not to exclude any particular group. This demonstrates a reasonable, non-discriminatory approach.

Seek professional advice from a letting agent or solicitor if you are uncertain whether a particular vetting question or requirement is lawful. The boundary between legitimate financial assessment and unlawful discrimination can sometimes be unclear, and professional guidance helps you stay on the right side of the law.

The Role of Referencing Platforms

Platforms like myChecksAI assist landlords and letting agents in managing tenant referencing checks via WhatsApp, with no subscription required. Legal responsibility for compliance remains with the landlord or agent. Using a structured platform can help ensure that your vetting process is consistent, well-documented, and compliant, reducing the risk of oversight or inadvertent discrimination.

Key Dates and Deadlines

• 1 May 2026: Section 21 evictions abolished; all fixed-term tenancies end and become periodic tenancies
• 31 May 2026: Deadline for landlords to provide written tenancy information to tenants on existing wholly oral tenancy agreements
• Before letting: All private landlords in England must register on the Private Rented Sector (PRS) Database before marketing or letting a property
• Before letting: All private landlords in England must join the new landlord ombudsman service

Conclusion

Tighter tenant vetting is now a necessity, not a choice. The removal of Section 21 evictions means that getting tenant selection right at the outset is your primary defence against problem tenancies. The law permits robust financial checks, employment verification, and landlord references, provided these are applied fairly and consistently. However, the Renters' Rights Act 2025 prohibits discrimination on grounds of benefit status and family status, while the Equality Act 2010 separately prohibits discrimination on grounds of race, sex, disability, age, religion, sexual orientation, and gender reassignment. A well-designed, documented, and consistently applied vetting process protects both your investment and your legal position.

Disclaimer: This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Readers should seek professional advice for their specific circumstances.